Torchwood: Consequences
by PhotoKisser
Summary: Ianto wakes up in Cardiff and realizes he has lost 5 years of his memories. When he gets involved with aliens and murders helping Gwen the situation feels strangely normal. Soon a new enemy emerges for Torchwood, one which they don't know how to fight...?
1. Episode 1: Part 1

**A/N:** Hello, thanks for picking this up, this is Torchwood: Consequences my own version of a new Torchwood series. All episodes will be published here in parts these parts will be published closely apart not to lose the touch. So here's Torchwood Consequences: Episode 1 Part 1. Enjoy~!

**Disclaimer:** Takes place around 9 months after the events of Children of Earth. And Torchwood doesn't belong to me (unfortunately...).

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><p><strong>Torchwood: Consequences<strong>

**Episode 1: The Spirit of Water**

The man woke up breathing heavily. Both his head and his heart were pounding from the shock. He felt his blood trying its best to make way through his veins, as if for the first time discovering the narrow, clotted passages. The numbness mixed with pain and he thought they would explode any second now. He took a deep breath just to find out that he had very little oxygen to breath. He tried looking around but it was pitch dark, he couldn't even see the tip of his nose. He felt his surroundings and he was sure he was trapped in a box of some sort. Above him there was wood but he was lying on a soft, silky pillow of some sort. He had a suit on him and a tie. A suit? He never wore suits... At least not if he could avoid it.

He sniffed. The smell of decomposition burned his nostrils. He felt slimy bugs walking on his wrists, travelling to other parts of his body. He shook his hand and found out that they were not only on him but in the whole box.

He tried his best to deny the truth but he was quite certain of where he was. A coffin. Buried, probably five feet underground. But how? The last thing he remembered was working in a coffee shop in London. He'd remember if he were shot or died of a disease, wouldn't he? But no, there was nothing. Nothing and he was stuck in a coffin. He panicked. He started kicking the lid shouting to let him out. He tried to open the coffin but it barely moved. He felt tears flowing down his face and he heard them gently hit the silk underneath him.

He knew he had barely enough air to last him ten minutes. He didn't bother to think how he could deduce such an information. He kept screaming and shouting and calling for help but he knew that the coffin and the ground standing on the way between him and the surface made it impossible for his voice to reach anybody.

"Jack..." he whispered not even knowing why. His old school mate wouldn't help him now. And he didn't know any other Jacks. He wept again having no strength left in his arms. He breathed in without much success. There was barely enough oxygen for him to stay conscious. "Jack..." he whispered again, on the edge of fainting. His mind didn't even record this word, as his eyes closed and his consciousness drifted away.

o*o*o

Captain John Hart entered the bar, hands on his hips, chin up, a handsome grin stretched across his face and looking sexy. He ignored the curious gazes and looked around. It was like any other in this part of the galaxy: the Platorion girls and boys showing off their orange skin and black tattoo-like birthmarks, neon lights coming from the white tales on the floor and the barman cleaning the glass vials looked as displeased as any and all other barmen in the universe. He ignored all that and looked for someone who denied the stereotype. He found three: two aliens and a human.

The aliens closely resembled the rightful inhabitants of Platorion but their eyes, glowing bright purple looked out of place and when one looked more carefully he could see they were not seated but floating just a few millimetres above the seats and when they weren't careful their body passed through the glass and furniture like it was air. John recognized these figures. The Rentrers were made of space dust and could take on any form they wanted. All he knew about their race was that they were dangerous and he knew better than to try and find out more.

He shifted his gaze at the human: a much more interesting find for him. He smiled seeing that the man was also looking at him. There wasn't even a little flicker of welcoming in his eyes. He was irritated, arms crossed on his chest, sometimes glancing at his vial to see if his drink was still there.

"Hello Jack!" the Captain approached the man in the grey military coat slowly, as if not wanting to hurry it.

"John," Jack nodded slightly as if just to say he acknowledges his existence.

"Funny thing, Jack, I've searched for you all over the universe and I find you in this dump..." John noted and turned around to order himself a drink, "same as him" as he put it. There was no answer from Jack's side so he continued: "How's Torchwood doing after last time? How are your little Eye Candy and Gwen?"

Jack sighed, his eyes distant but voice clear and firm: "Gwen is expecting a child." he explained - he thought it best not to mention anything about Ianto. And he could smile when speaking about Gwen.

John laughed at this and took a sip of his blue coloured drink. It felt as if this time it was him ignoring Jack. He closed his eyes tightly. "Strongest alcohol in the whole universe," he commented and started chuckling again. "Not even a father yet but you're already making mistakes..."

"I'm not the father!" Jack growled already knowing where the conversation was going to lead. "She has a husband, you know?" he turned to the bar and directed the conversation elsewhere: "Anyways, what do you want?"

John exhaled air prolonging the silence. He hoped not to end the small talk so quickly.

"There's a little gadget I want to steal from... well... the local authorities," John explained and glanced at Jack's eyes. They showed no sign of interest: neither approbation nor criticism. "Could be useful in the future, worth a lot more than this lot here thinks."

The former Torchwood leader's eyes remained the same. He looked irritated by the request.

"And what do you need me for?" he asked scanning the vials behind the bar looking for maybe something stronger.

"Just thought it would be more fun if I did it with you," John sounded innocent when he said that but Jack was more than well trained in reading under his presumably normal lines.

He turned around to face the girl to his right. She had a blue long-sleeved shirt reaching just above her waist showing of a black birth-mark that looked like an ink splatter on the cards that psychologists use. Her thick hair was short and pointy; face of a young adult, not spoilt by too much make up.

"Do you want me to buy you a drink?" he asked bluntly and gazed at her cheeks glowing bright orange in response. She hesitated for a moment but before she uttered the bashful "yes" John had already regained Jack's attention.

"I sit beside you, talk to you and in the middle of the conversation you still have the guts to flirt with somebody on my very own eyes?" he asked shocked. "Could you be a little more delicate at least? You and I have a past, you know."

Jack turned to him and gazed at him angrily. "A _past_ is the right word. I'd rather all that we ever had stayed there," he said and stood up. John followed his lead and the next second a fist landed on Jack's cheek. Eyes turned to them.

Jack leaned on the stool where the punch hurled him. He waited for John to slowly walk over to him and pulled his arm at the same time pushing his knee into the other's stomach.

People started whispering all around the two fighters. Panic spread when John's third blow came knocking Jack of his legs. The Rentrers were the first ones to leave and most of the Platorions followed them.

Jack stood up leaning on the bar to help himself. He glanced at the girl who was now just centimetres away from him. He held her chin in his hand and kissed her on the lips.

"Be right back with you," he smiled and John pulled him back and pushed him in the opposite direction. Jack stood up and returned the blow. This time it was John leaning on a table and drinking an abandoned vial. He took out his gun and by the time the last bullet was shot into the ceiling the bar was empty with just a few youngsters hiding under the tables because of the fighting pair blocking their exit.

The guards entered the bar knocking the door out just in time to see Jack holding John by his red jacket, fist raised in the attempt to hit him.

"And now for the grand finale!" he said and kissed John on the lips. The guards separated them just before John's hands rested on Jack's head to return the kiss. He opposed but it was six against two and they hadn't the slightest chance to win without bloodshed. They laughed hard; wrists cuffed making comments about the orange skinned officers as they were led out of the bar.

o*o*o

Rhys looked into Gwen's eyes and saw only happiness which now they both shared. He had never seen her happier than now - even at their wedding and when she bestowed him the news. Of course judging by what was happening at that time it was a lot harder to focus on those happy moments, mostly because of those bloody aliens. But now that Torchwood was gone both of them could be happy. Sometimes, though, he saw that tiny glimmer of longing in her eyes. But he was more than satisfied to have Jack finally gone out of their life. For those few days before its birth he wondered if Gwen would suggest Jack as the baby's name but thankfully she denied it an option.

"Alexander..." Gwen whispered the name with excitement for probably the hundredth time today.

Rhys kissed her and could feel her lips shaping a smile as she pulled away after a few satisfying moments.

"Oh, stop it!" she said teasingly and Rhys smiled. Their attention returning to the newborn. It's eyes were partly shut probably because of the strong spring sun making its way through the white curtain. It had Rhys' eyes but although he kept saying it was his little clone that was where the similarities ended. The dark, almost black hair was most definitely from it's mother's side as well as his cheeks. Although it was just a few weeks old Gwen had already lost her count how many times her and Rhys' parents fought as to who the baby resembles more.

Rhys took out a rattle from the baby-basket, which had a lot more toys than was necessary, and started playing with Alex. The phone rang. Gwen quickly recognized her ring tone. She had changed it after Torchwood and then again just before Alex's birth. It was now a theme song from a baby TV show and sounded a bit awkward for her taste but her motherly instinct to take pride in having a baby controlled everything even her cell phone. Her wallpaper presented the face of her newborn child.

She left the room before answering and Rhys displeased recognized the voice she used whenever she was talking business.

"Yes, that's me," Gwen said to the speaker, her voice instinctively camouflaged her uncertainty. She listened for a few moments to the voice in the phone and then obviously annoyed tried cutting in a few times - without much success. "I already said it a few times already: I will _not_get involved with aliens ever again, thank you very much," her voice was now raised but calm and showing that she was in the higher position. A voice that met no denial. Another thing she had learned in Torchwood. Her quick steps right afterwards suggested she had hung up before the caller had even the slightest chance to react.

She kissed Rhys again: it was the "back from work snog" as her husband used to call it. He looked at her just once more to ensure himself it was better not to speak of any Torchwood related things at the moment. The phone rang again disturbing them again. Her face first showed anger but quickly changed when instead of 'withheld' there was a familiar name on the mobile screen.

"Hello Andy," she said with a smile. Rhys could easily guess she was more than delighted to have a chance to speak with her friend about her new born. This time he was able to hear Andy's voice since Gwen didn't leave the room.

"Hey Gwen, how's little Alex doing?" the policeman asked. Gwen's smile faded as she read behind the lines of that seemingly casual greeting. She knew her former partner well enough to know that he wasn't just asking (on behalf of everyone in the office as well) about her baby's health.

"He's fine, thanks," Gwen's voice now lacked the friendliness it used to have but at the same time showed concern for her partner. "Andy, what is going on?" she asked.

"You see... I know it's your maternity leave and everything, but... There's no one else I could ask for help."

o*o*o

Ianto woke up gasping. He breathed deeply for a few moments happy to have any oxygen to breath with. His head was pounding and the bright light burning his eyes. It took him some time to get used to it and he could easily look around. He was lying on the much too familiar steps of the bay.

"Cardiff," he said a bit too loudly, his voice not yet adjusted. The far away voices of the cities kept pulsing inside his head from really quiet to awfully loud.

As far as he remembered he was working in _London_. London, not Cardiff.

People were walking past him glaring at him and probably thinking he had been too drunk to reach his house the night before. He sat down leaning on his arms for balance. He waited for his head to adapt and then slowly but steadily he stood up. It wasn't as bad as he imagined. He tried blocking of the judging looks people were sending him. The obvious struck him as soon as he remembered that the pitch black coffin he was in was far too real to be just a dream. He needed coffee.

He searched his pockets and found a few quid - just enough for a good cappuccino that he hoped would help his mind process better. After all, he had no idea what had happened. His first thought was clinical death. But wouldn't he remember if he had died? The memories he had seemed as distant as another life. They didn't belong to _now_, they lacked freshness and were too scarce to have been from a short while ago. For some reason he was sure that _something_ had happened. Something that brought death upon him. But first and foremost: coffee and news.

He went into the coffee shop he knew since teenage years. He stopped at the end of the line but glares and whispers that were coming from everywhere made him doubtful. Was there something on his face? He left the line and headed towards the bathroom. He couldn't have looked _that _bad... He looked into the mirror and now could easily tell why he was the subject of people's conversations. It really was _that_ bad.

His clothes were dusty and now that he thought about it they smelled of mustiness. There were also a few holes in his jacket. His tie obviously was red some time ago but now it was so grey that the color was hard to distinguish. The suit also looked bleached. His hair was a few centimeters longer than he used to wear it and not only did it stand in every possible direction it was filthy: greasy and with dust and sand in between the strands.

But it was his face that presented itself the worst. His skin was white. Not just pale: white. Like that of a ghost. Lips were almost purple, eyes looked dead.

The shock lasted only a few seconds before reason took control over his brain. He looked around just to make sure nobody was there and went out to see if anybody was coming. He slipped out and into the next door which he remembered was employees only. It was a closet with all the chemicals and cleaning devices. He found a sign that said out of order and disappeared back into the bathroom hanging it on the doorknob before locking the door. He had no time to wonder how he thought of it and where did he learn to sneak like that.

He corrected his hair and shirt (as he decided to throw the jacket and tie out as soon as possible) - best he could while waiting for the water from the sink to become hot. He then washed his face. It was when his hands touched the warm water that he realized he was freezing - another reason why everybody was staring at him - he didn't have a coat on. But the warmth didn't bring any circulation to his cheeks. They were still pale. He did however feel better and now that he had his hair done he thought he looked at least a little bit presentable.

He left the bathroom making sure nobody was on the corridor outside and returned to the line. He looked around moving forward automatically behind the man in front of him in the queue. The coffee shop wasn't the one he remembered from when he was last in Cardiff. The wallpaper was red with flowery decor and had a much more retro look. The arrangement of the tables was different as well. There was now a second floor and spiral stairs stood in one corner. In fact, the only thing that hadn't changed was the name: "Poppy".

"What can I get for you, sir?" the woman behind the counter asked disturbing him. He jumped and turned to her.

"Ah, yes..." he glanced at the coffee list quickly. "Just coffee..." he decided. "Preferably large and hot," he added smiling.

The girl turned to make the coffee. She was wearing pony tails and was quite young by the looks of it. Maybe not a student yet. Her name plate said: "Suzy". She had short red hair and had a fashionable feeling to her as well. Freckles didn't spoil her beauty. She was of average hight, maybe a bit taller than most girls but looked clumsy, the way she stood slightly hunching and sort of jumping when she walked.

"That'll be two pounds," the girl said putting the newly made coffee in front of Ianto. He put a few coins on the counter. "Cold outside inn't?" she said, friendly irony present in her voice.

"Yes, very," Ianto said ignoring her tone. He took the coffee and left the coffee shop, bumping into a police officer on the way out. Both of them ignored it and went on.

It really was freezing outside. The coffee in his hands didn't help much. He noticed his fingers were white and nails almost purple - he was obviously lacking blood in his veins. He stood in front of "Poppy", coffee slowly emptying and feeling just a tiny bit warmer. He thought for a while but the answer didn't come to him at all. He had absolutely no clue where he should go now.

o*o*o

"So, what do you want me to get you?" Andy asked sitting Gwen by the table. He could feel rage pouring out of his former partner. He knew well enough not to anger her even more.

"Just tea," Gwen said trying her best not to act like she's mad. Didn't work quite well. But she had all the reason for being angry. First there was the phone from the government asking her to work for them and now Andy had a case where apparently something supernatural was involved. She felt guilty and sorry for Andy. He was always in the middle of her problems and Torchwood but she never explained him anything. He still trusted her though. Enough to ask her to be his partner and to help with this case. "Sorry Andy..." she said when sure he wouldn't hear her.

She turned around to look outside. The queue was long and she knew she would have to wait a few more minutes. She was shocked to see Ianto standing outside in a white shirt without a coat. There was a coffee in his hand and he was looking blankly into the distance. She stood up and slowly, as if still unsure if it was him went outside.

"Ianto?" she asked, her voice fragile and barely audible. He heard her though. He jumped surprised and then slowly turned around. It was him. Gwen could feel tears gathering in her eyes. She embraced him tightly. Her chin rested on his shoulder although she had to stand on her toes to reach it.

Ianto didn't hug her back. He stood there allowing her to squeeze her, mostly because of the shock. Gwen noticed that quickly. The cup was still in his hand, his other arm down, raised just a few inches and lips sealed. She let go a bit uncertain of what she should do. She felt her hands twitch, eyes still down afraid to look at his face. Curiosity was stronger though. She glanced up and saw Ianto's face in shock, silent, clueless, eyes showing no sign of reconnaissance.

"You're joking, Ianto..." she said. "Tell me it's all a big joke," she took a few steps back trying to deny the thought rambling through her head. She was using her work voice, the one she used to talk when speaking with criminals. The slight trembling of it gave away her true feelings.

"Do I know you?" Ianto asked. But it wasn't the "do I know you?" one would use when meeting an old school mate or somebody he saw a few times in the neighborhood or at work. Gwen was sure of it. It was the "do I know you?" that people used when somebody they had never seen before suddenly hugs them in the middle of the street.

Gwen quickly regained her cool. The person in front of her looked like Ianto, sounded like Ianto and most definitely was Ianto. Apparently just not the Ianto who knew her.

"Ianto, what date is it?" Gwen asked.

Ianto blinked. That simple question was harder than he thought. What date was it? He never thought about it before. "Well it's spring..." he said, his assumption based on the weather. But it could well enough be autumn or even early or late winter.

"What year..." Gwen continued her voice now distant, eyes concentrated on Ianto, hiding her emotions. She was happy but at the same time devastated. Ianto was alive but he didn't remember her. And most likely he didn't remember Torchwood either.

"2005," Ianto answered quickly but regretted it immediately. Gwen's face told him it wasn't the year 2005 anymore. It probably wasn't even close by the looks of it. He swallowed, somehow knowing what the right conclusions were. "It's a joke isn't it?" he said.

"It's the year 2010," Gwen said. "I think you lost almost five years," she did the maths quickly. She knew that Ianto was previously in Torchwood 1 for about two years. "You don't remember Torchwood at all..." she said.

"What's Torchwood?" Ianto asked. All sorts of thoughts were passing through his mind one of them being: "why was he trusting this woman?", "why wasn't he just walking away?". The pieces just fit together with what she said. And he somehow knew he could believe her. He didn't know why but what she said felt right.

Gwen was on the verge of panic. Her thoughts battled each other. She didn't know what to do or think. 'What would Jack do?' she wondered. She knew he wouldn't tell Ianto the truth, that was one thing. She was fine with that. At least for now. She knew that the one thing Jack would like her to do is keep him safe. And that meant keeping him as far away from Torchwood as possible. It didn't however mean inviting him for a coffee and discussing Andy's police problem which she was about to do. But she couldn't leave him standing without a coat by the bay.

"I'm Gwen Cooper," she said. "We worked together in a... in a sales office," she explained.

"Ianto Jones," Ianto said out of habit. He reached out his hand to shake but it just felt awkward so murmuring something he put it in his pocket. He glanced at Gwen. He had no doubt she was lying but he didn't want to delve into the subject any further. There had to be a reason for her not telling him.

"I'm having coffee with my friend, maybe you could join us?" Gwen said pointing at the cafe. Her question sounded more like an order. Ianto had no choice but to obey. They went inside.

"Bloody Torchwood!" Andy said already raising his hands in disbelief thinking Gwen is escaping again. He was surprised to see her back at the table."Good Lord, I thought you stood me up again! Then I saw you left your things so I thought you just went to the bathroom but..." he said. He wanted to say something more but he noticed Ianto. "But I... I told your sister... You were... I saw you, and you were..." he mumbled unable to believe his eyes. He turned his gaze back to Gwen demanding an explanation. His former partner glanced at him angrily and he kept quiet.

"Ianto, Andy, Andy Ianto," Gwen introduced them both.

"Ianto Jones, nice to meet you," Ianto smiled and reached out his hand.

Andy shook it, shock still on his face. "Same here," he said.

"Ianto doesn't remember anything from the past five years," Gwen explained sitting down. She hoped Andy would pick up on her chain of thoughts and not mention anything about Torchwood. Or his death. "I'll tell you everything later, Ianto," she turned to Ianto.

"You still want to keep those secrets away from me?" Andy asked annoyed and angry at Gwen. His voice wasn't loud and the monologue sounded more like he was talking to himself than to Gwen. "Nothing changes, fine. Go on! Don't tell me about your little Torchwood secrets! Ouch!" Gwen kicked Andy under the table. It was enough to shut him up quickly. "Anyways, I've got two supernatural experts instead of one, so I guess I can deal with being kept in the dark…" Gwen shushed him again.

She looked up at Ianto. One look confirmed everything. He did suspect something had been kept from him. She looked down aware that Ianto now was seeing right through her. Guessing her thoughts, thinking over everything that had been happening. He always knew so much more than he was letting on. He didn't say anything though. And that just made it harder for her to lie.

"What is the drill, Andy?" Gwen asked turning the conversation. She wasn't too happy to be discussing this with Ianto but a part of her wanted him to remember everything and just make it all easy for her.

"Right, yes," Andy returned to the main subject. He took out a folder labeled 'Water Thief'. "It's a new case we're working on. There's been fourteen cases so far. Fourteen murders! And it's only been a little more than week."

"Two murders a day?" Gwen asked.

"No, it's irregular," Andy said and opened the file. "And there's nothing to connect the victims. It's like they're completely random." He pulled out the first file. "Harry Novak, age 48, last Thursday night. He was found just outside the city near the main road to London."

"Oh my God," Gwen whispered looking through the file. Ianto gazed from the side. Gwen quickly passed him the documents she had read through as if by habit. "They're completely…"

"Dehydrated," Andy finished. "There's not even an _drop_ of water in them. Somehow they've all been sucked dry. Like raisins. It was really hard to tell the exact time of death – there was no blood, no normal blood I suppose is better."

"You're in homicide now, Andy?" Gwen asked looking through the rest of the files. There was a young girl, age 24. That was what it said on her file. But her face lacked the characteristic of a young woman. It was wrinkled and dry, fingers clasped gently on her mobile phone as if along with all the water strength was also sucked out of her body. Gwen murmured another blasphemy.

"I'm covering for some bloke," Andy explained. "Have to do my best to get higher. Not everyone gets to be, you know," he glanced at Ianto who was entirely absorbed in the files, "be lucky," he finished.

Gwen felt her heart filling up with guilt. She reached out her hand and squeezed Andy's fingers. "I'm sorry, Andy…" she said. "Someday I'll definitely tell you," she whispered with a reassuring smile on her face.

Andy returned a smirk, his face full of not disappointment but satisfaction. He knew that the smile she just gave him was real. Not one of those reassuring smiles she used to give him when she was apologizing for something she forgot to do. "I just hope I live to see that day," he said still acting grumpy.

"Oh, stop it!" Gwen laughed sensing the joke. She hit Andy lightly on the shoulder and they laughed some more and made a few more remarks and inside jokes.

"It's a Wart," Ianto said, immediately regaining the attention of the two. He had all the files in front of him arranged in a very neat, Ianto-like way. But they were in a different order than the police organized them.

_Ianto didn't change much_, Gwen thought. He still had those habits. He smiled whenever something was wrong and concentrated on work to shut off the pain. From the look on his face Gwen could tell it didn't really work too well this time.

"What's a Wart?" Andy asked, his head turned to Gwen instead of Ianto. His eyes showed confusion, and he mouthed, "_I thought he didn't remember"_. She lifted her shoulders and shook her head showing him she had no idea why Ianto recalled something like that. She then shook her head trying to tell him that she herself had no idea what a so called Wart was.

"It's an alien that's made mostly out of water," Ianto explained. "They usually live in a very humid environment, much different than Earth's. They can suck water out of objects and bodies. They need constant water and our environment is too dry for them. That's why it attacked. A Wart is made out of 97% water and can shape-shift; take on human appearance." Ianto looked at Gwen with a puzzling look. "How do I know that?" Ianto asked.

"Alien?" Andy turned his head towards Gwen.

"Drop it, Andy," Gwen said harshly.

The constable looked back at Ianto, though his pride was deeply wounded again. "If it's a shape-shifter then how do we find it?"

Ianto showed Gwen and Andy a map of Cardiff with all the places where the murder occurred marked with an 'x' and a number. They looked random at first.

"You said so yourself, it's hard to tell when the death occurred," Ianto said. "The police assumed that they died in the order they were found. But if the murders occurred in this order, then…" Ianto crossed out five numbers and wrote new ones next to them. "Then they don't seem random at all," Ianto smiled.

He was trying his best not to make it too obvious that he was terrified. His heart was hitting his chest hard and irregularly. Aliens. For some reason he knew they existed. For some reason he _believed_ they existed. And the fact that Gwen and Andy listened to him patiently and seriously considered his words as reliable made it seem like they really did. But the thing that scared him the most wasn't the fact that he knew these weird things about extraterrestrial things. It was that he enjoyed the thrill he felt right now. Solving this unusual puzzle as if it were child's play.

"It's obviously a trail. The alien is heading for the Bay," Gwen said looking at the map.

"But there's a gap!" Andy noticed. "In this area," he pointed on the map, "There's no murders here."

"I suspect it could have been raining at that time," Ianto said. "It fits the two days there were no murders."

"How do we recognize it?" Gwen asked unconsciously adding the 'we'.

"Assuming it's trying to blend in it will be wearing gloves. Warts' hands have these suckers, like an octopus, so it would want to hide them, although… I don't think it will help much this time of year."

"No, I guess not," Gwen said. "Damn you, Andy," she looked at the policeman. "This is the last time I'm dealing with them, aliens."

"Sorry Gwen," Andy said. "Just one more thing, if it's alien then how do we stop it?"

"Made ninety-seven percent out of water, it can shift into anything - a taser gun is the best solution; short bolt of electricity and it will be down," Ianto explained. "That's all I _know_," he added emphasizing the last word. It didn't feel like remembering at all. Knowing about those Warts felt more like knowing how to multiply or read. Something he'd learnt once and then just knew it instinctively. "Judging by the speed its moving with he should be around this area right now," he pointed an area two miles away from the bay, "and there's a fountain here, so it will probably stop there on the way to… recharge…" He looked up at Andy and Gwen. "We've got half an hour."

Gwen and Andy got up faster than Ianto expected. They really were like policemen on a drill. He followed them out of the coffee shop, picking up all the files.

* * *

><p>Hope you enjoyed it :) Part 2 up tomorrow.<p>

Also, I'm in need of beta readers so if you liked my story and would be willing to help me with correcting the story I would be very grateful if you left me a message : Plus, you'd be able to read the stories quicker.


	2. Episode 1: Part 2

As promised, part 2. Enjoy:

* * *

><p>"But why Cardiff?" Andy asked when they were already cramped in his uniform car. "It's not the perfect environment, he said so!"<p>

"I believe it could be an accident," Gwen said. "It was probably sucked in through the rift."

"What rift?" asked Andy and Ianto simultaneously.

Gwen who was sitting on the passenger seat was thankful that none of the mirrors reflected Ianto. That would mean not only she could see his face she would also be seen by her former colleague. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, doubt entered her heart for the first time.

"You know about a Wart yet you have no idea about the rift?" she said. Ianto remained silent. Gwen knew he realized her suspicion. "OK, I want to make a little test. Answer me if you remember anything about these words and names," she ordered. "Weevil."

"I know them, they're-"

Gwen cut in.

"The Risen Mitten."

"Nothing."

"Sleep Regent."

"I know that one."

"Canary Wharf."

"That's the building in London. Why are you asking me about that?"

"Martha Jones." Gwen ignored the question.

"Nothing."

"Reset?"

"An experimental pill."

Gwen took a deep breath before asking the last four.

"Four-Five-Six."

"They're just numbers to me."

"Captain Jack Harkness."

Ianto didn't answer at first. He felt his heart beat hard against his chest. He remembered the darkness in the coffin. The lack of air and the one word he said in desperation: "Jack". But that was all. There was nothing in his head. He felt something should be there, his body even reacted: a skipped beat and red cheeks were proof of that. But there was only blackness where memories should be.

"Nothing," he whispered, sadness creeping into his voice. He knew that this person had to be important.

He heard Gwen exhale slowly, trying to be as quiet as possible.

"The Doctor," she said, her voice even more serious now. If there was one person in Torchwood who'd heard about the Doctor from Jack it was Ianto. She doubted that was possible but if there was even a small chance that he knew she was ready to take it. She thought that "the Doctor" could be a key to Jack's disappearance.

"If you don't mean any specific doctor than no, haven't heard about that one either."

Gwen's hands were shaking. Ianto seemed to know that _their _Ianto did. The things he knew were just information anyone could get their hands on if he knew how to hack. She held back the tears and tried to think straight. There was just one last name she could try.

"Lisa."

"I know her," Ianto said a bit too enthusiastically. He sounded like a boy who just had his first love. Gwen exhaled in relief. "I just met her, yesterday. I mean I met her the day before I forgot it all."

"Thanks Ianto, that's all I needed to know," Gwen said hiding her feelings using her professional voice.

"OK, never mind that confusing conversation," Andy said from behind the wheel. "Can you now explain what's the rift?"

"Sorry Andy," Gwen's eyes were searching the streets instead of looking at her colleague while she was saying that. "You'll just have to trust me on this one."

"Like I haven't heard _that _before…"

Andy swerved into an empty parking spot, stopped the engine, and pulled the hand break. "We're here," he said.

They left the car. Andy pushed the button on his car key to lock the vehicle. The lights flickered twice and a sound announced the door was locked now.

"Got your taser?" Andy asked Ianto. The man raised the hand where the weapon was. There were only two taser guns in the car and both Andy and Ianto agreed that it would be best if Gwen didn't take any unnecessary risks. She on the other hand felt leaving the job to Andy and the least field experienced person in Torchwood who also didn't remember anything was even more dangerous. Her only hope was that everything would go as planned.

They followed Andy up the street and left into a smaller street that led them to a small plaza with a fountain in the middle of it. There were lots of boutiques and cafes and more importantly: people.

"Right, it's still lunch time," Andy said. "So what do we do now? We can't just tell each of these people to take their gloves off."

"We can expose it," Gwen said. "They should be sensitive to dry air, right? And they like water. Do they use only hands to absorb it? We could maybe try and…" she didn't finish. She realized she was raising her voice, more excitement pouring in every second. She missed it. She missed Torchwood. She missed Jack. She missed Owen, Toshiko and Ianto. She wasn't sure if the Ianto she was working with right now was the same Ianto she knew. He seemed to be the same person, he had the same habits, the same way of moving, he even acted the same he would in some situations. Her heart believed it was Ianto but the time she spent in Torchwood made her doubt her instincts.

"I don't think we have to…" Ianto said. "It's already gone," he pointed at the fountain – now miraculously drained of water. There wasn't even a drop left.

"So we missed it…" Andy said. "Brilliant, just brilliant," he lifted his hands resigned.

"Maybe not," Gwen pointed at a man near the dried fountain. He had light cotton gloves soaking wet, water dropping from the fingertips. He had a black leather jacket and skinny jeans. On his feet he had huge wellingtons that ruined his fashion balance. He had long greasy hair and a cylinder on his head. So much for disguise.

She stepped back. The man looked right into her eyes. His pupils were light grey and eyes grayish blue. He looked like a blind person but Gwen could feel his gaze drilling into her mind.

Andy ran towards him, Ianto following right behind. "Police, hands in the air!" Andy shouted pointing the gun. The person tried to run but the policeman reached him first. He tried to hit the man with the taser gun but he hit nothing. The man's body shifted and a hole was made in his chest where Andy's fist should have hit. The policeman almost fell but the man grabbed his shoulder.

"You can help me," it whispered into his ear just before a bolt of electricity stole his consciousness away.

The man dropped on to Andy and the policeman could see Ianto standing in front of him with his hand stretched out, the taser gun squeezed tightly in his fingers. He looked shocked like he'd always look whenever he did something that involved non-office work.

A few people stopped to watch the scene. Andy quickly corrected his hand not to look too suspicious and draw too much attention to the huge hole in the man's chest.

"Move along! We're police, there's nothing wrong! Please return to what you were doing!" Gwen did a great job acting as a policewoman.

Andy started dragging the man towards the car. They realized they didn't really think what they would do after they caught the Wart.

"Wow, he really is water," Andy said, his hands and uniform were soaking.

"I'll get the car," Gwen said and Andy quickly gave her the key. She rushed to find the vehicle.

Ianto looked around and followed Andy. He hoped that the Wart wasn't dead because of him.

"He said he needed help," Andy said quietly. "It didn't seem vicious. Why would it kill all those people?"

"Survival," Ianto said and was surprised by the confidence in his own voice. He knew nothing about what he was saying but was sure that it was right. It was truly an awkward feeling. "A human body is made 70% out of water – that would give about forty to seventy litres per average person. People are common and murder doesn't cost anything. It could've looked for attention as well."

The police car entered the alley and exceeding the speed limit by at least ten miles per hour it rode towards them. Gwen stopped right before them, the breaks miraculously bearing the strain with a loud noise.

"Get in!" Gwen said through the open window.

Ianto opened the door to the back seat for Andy and the Wart and then sat on the passenger seat.

"I'm never doing this sort of thing again," Gwen said desperately trying to believe her own words.

o*o*o

"I haven't done that in ages!" Jack said when he, John and the alien girl were pushed into a small holding cell.

"Yes, they've got teleport detector," John explained. "Otherwise I'd be here long ago!"

"Why are we here anyways?" Jack asked. He then turned to the girl. "My appologies, I haven't introduced myself: Captain Jack Harkness, nice to meet you," he pulled out his hand.

"Zoe," the girl shook his hand. The blush on her face came back. She was still in shock partly because she was arrested and partly because she was sharing a cell with a man probably twice her age but very handsome.

"Sorry about all this," Jack said. "I didn't really think they'd take you, too."

"Captain John Hart," John said from the other side of the cell. His voice sounded like he was desperately trying to imitate an angry child yearning for attention.

"Oh, what are you sulking about again?" Jack asked turning towards his partner.

John turned to face him but couldn't say anything because two officers entered the room and stopped before the cell debating about them eagerly.

"So, you're saying they were fighting over a girl," one of them said.

"Yes, they wrecked the whole bar," John recognized one of the guards that caught them.

"Excuse me!" he said obviously outraged. "We were not fighting over some girl! I was fighting over him!" he pointed at Jack.

Jack smiled flattered.

"I'd never fight over a girl like that," John continued. "No offense, you're pretty but you're just not my type," he added to the girl. He turned back towards the officers. Towards the new one to be more precise. He was wearing a black officer coat but had two stripes on the arm instead of one like the guards coat. He was a bit taller than your average guy and with short black curly hair. "You on the other hand, I'd..."

Jack cut in.

"John!" it was unusual for him to be the one to interrupt like this. Most of the time it was him who was being banned from flirting.

"What? I was just saying!" John defended himself. "What's your name officer?" he asked.

"Don't mind him, just continue," Jack said to the guards.

"I'm upper officer Corobel if you must know," the officer said standing still but obviously disturbed by John's behaviour. "You are being sent to penalty service for three years for disturbing public peace. That's all."

They left.

"What does 'penalty service' mean?" Jack asked seeing how the girls face had lost its former glow. She was pale with fear. She didn't answer. "Well then I guess if it's that bad then we'll just have to escape."

John pushed a sequence of buttons on his wrist strap and the door to the cell opened.

"That's more like it!" John said. They left the cell and headed towards the exit.

"You're not coming?" Jack asked Zoe who was still standing in the cell speechless.

John opened the next door. The alarm turned on.

"John!" Jack turned towards his partner with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Sorry about that," John quickly turned the alarm off.

"They're going to kill me," Zoe whispered quietly.

"They certainly will _now_," Jack glanced at John. "We're getting out of here!" he pulled the girls wrist and ran after John into the corridor.

The lights like everywhere else were installed in the floor in the white plastic tiles. They hadn't much time to contemplate their surroundings. They heard people moving in one of the branches of the corridor.

"In here!" John opened one of the doors to the right. It was a small closet and the three of them barely squeezed in. "They certainly tightened up the security since I was last here," John commented.

"You've been here before?" Jack asked. "What else are you keeping from me?"

"Don't worry Jack, whatever it is I can guarantee I don't have any secret boyfriend," John whispered avoiding the answer.

He quickly shushed Jack when the footsteps started approaching. They waited for the guards to pass the door and got out. They waited a few moments by the door just to be sure that no one else was coming and moved on.

"So why are the lights in the floor?" Jack asked after a few minutes of walking. "And more importantly, what are we looking for?" this question was directed at John.

"This place is in the middle of four major space trade paths," John explained. "They intercept loads of space junk and frankly speaking most of it just stays in the storage room covered in dust. I just want to borrow one little thing... and maybe a few more if I came all the way here" John saw Jack wanting to ask another question. He quickly continued. "As for the lights, you can ask her."

"It's because lights shouldn't be above," the girl said.

"Basically, these idiots think that their two suns radiate massive amounts of radiation and they don't want the lights to remind them of the sun," John explained seeing how the girl wasn't able to do it well. "But it's all just a big propaganda!" he added.

"No, it's not!" Zoe protested.

"I think I would know better," John said. Jack knew that tone. It was the same one he would use with little annoying kids every time he was too ashamed to admit he's having fun being around them. But he was too transparent and even Zoe saw his attempts futile.

"You never change," Jack said smiling.

"Says the man who doesn't age," John riposted.

Jack glanced at the girl. Her colours were back and she looked like she had been enjoying herself.

"You do these sorts of things often?" she asked. "Break into police headquarters and steal things?"

"No, it's just this once," Jack said. "For me. He on the other hand..." He pointed at his former partner.

"Like you're the innocent one, Jack!" John protested.

"Where are you from?" Zoe asked.

"All over the place," Jack said.

"Cardiff, Wales, Great Britain, Earth," John corrected him.

For the first time Jack couldn't read him. _Why did he say that to her?_ His eyes told him.

"You travel a lot?" Zoe continued the questioning. "What's it like? You know... out there," She didn't even wait for the answer before asking another question.

"You'll see for yourself soon enough," John said cutting her question short. "Finally!" John stopped before a double door labelled storage.

"You seem to know your way around this place," Jack noticed. "It took us just a few minutes to get here."

"Like I said, I've been here before," John said.

"What did you take then?"

"Just a little something, it would hold no value to you."

"Well then try me!"

"Just some guns," John said fighting with the door's double deadlock.

It opened. A guard was standing on the other side. Zoe screamed quietly, covering her lips with her hands.

"Right, didn't expect that..." John said and pulled out his revolver. He pointed at the guards head. The poor officer couldn't even reach for his own weapon. They stood for a few seconds without motion.

"Jack, go inside," the former time agent commanded. "You too Bluebird," he was obviously talking about the blue-haired girl. "You," he said to the guard when the two had obeyed him, "you will come here."

The two of them exchanged places slowly, John watching the guard's every move.

"Jack!" he shouted when they were all inside the storage room.

"Working on it!" Jack said pressing a sequence of buttons on his wrist strap. "Got it!"

John couldn't take that chance. Or maybe he just didn't want to. He shot the guard just before Jack got the code right.

"Got it!" he said.

The doors closed locking the three in the room.

"I changed the password earlier," John said hoisting his gun. "They should take a few minutes before getting in."

"At this point we might've as well used the teleport," Jack commented. "They already know where we are and since you killed the guard..."

"Oh, come on Jack! You don't think that, do you?" John obviously enjoyed his little mission with Jack. He threw a sack to his friend. "Take all you want," he said.

"Didn't you just want one thing?" Jack asked.

"Might as well take everything while we're here," John said. "You too, Bluebird," he threw another sack to Zoe.

"But I–," the girl protested.

"You're going to be wanted anyways," John said. "You might as well do something wrong!"

John disappeared between the many shelves of the storage room. He didn't have to search long for it. He was prepared and had already broken into the police computer earlier. The thing he was looking for was behind a glass cabinet like all the intercepted objects labeled "most dangerous". He opened the glass with his time agent wrist strap. It took him just a few seconds to do that.

"Aren't you a beauty!" he said taking the small gadget into his hand. "Fifty first century voice message device," he said turning it around in his fingers. It was a round disk with a name of the owner engraved in the middle. He couldn't read it but he knew who it belonged to. The disc was made into an amulet; the letters seemed exotic. "And it's a necklace." He hanged it on his neck and hid it under his shirt.

"You found it already?" Jack asked standing behind him.

John jumped startled. He quickly picked up a laser gun that laid next to the now gone amulet. "Yup! Got it here!" he showed the weapon to Jack. "Isn't she beautiful!" he was thankful that the gun was truly a piece of art. It was made to look like an eighteen century revolver and had lots of flowery motifs. Only the metal – the alloy wasn't of Earth's origins – betrayed it's true nature.

"You and your hobbies!" Jack wasn't happy that he was involved in John's gun-hunting.

"They're coming!" Zoe appeared on the other side of the alley of shelves and ran towards them.

"Jack, we'll meet outside," John reacted immediately. "Take the girl, coordinates-"

Jack cut in. "My teleport doesn't work!" he said desperately. He took Zoe hand and grabbed John's wrist strap just before they disappeared.

They appeared on the streets of the city. It was empty and still dark but the plastic tiles on the pavement gave out a red light.

"When did that happen?" John asked finally freeing his hand.

"Long story," Jack said. "It happened when I tried to teleport to the twenty first century but somehow I ended up in the eighteenth. I couldn't get it to work ever since. I had to wait three centuries! I had to hitchhike to get here!"

"Arthur Dent and Douglas Adams are now your gurus?" John commented. He turned to Zoe. "And how are you doing, Bluebird?" he asked. The girl didn't answer. She was staring at the lights on the pavement; the bag in her hand half full. "Wow, you really took me seriously, I'm impressed. Now you really have no choice but leave the planet for a few years, maybe travel the universe? I bet you could make a little money with what you got in that bag."

The girl ignored him. The lights on the pavement were now flashing red.

"It's dawn!" Zoe said. Her voice was filled with fear and the two time agents could see her trembling, terrified.

"Come on, Bluebird, I already told you: it's all a big hoax! There's no radiation."

"Is that why there's no windows?" Jack asked looking around. The walls were empty. There wasn't a single window on any of the buildings.

"Yeah, these people live mostly at night and when the sun is up nobody is allowed to go out," John explained. "But it's really beautiful..." he added. "The day, I mean."

"But it's toxic!" Zoe protested.

"Oh, shut up! Look there, Bluebird!" John pointed at the end of the street. The first sun was already coming out from the horizon. "Can something this pretty really be deadly?" he asked but decided not to answer himself for he knew that he could find a few places and people that were both beautiful and dangerous.

The girl looked at the rising sun. It painted the sky pink, violet and orange – the same orange her skin was coloured. She was mesmerized, almost hypnotized by the sight. Jack also couldn't take his eyes away from the sunrise. The buildings, normally white looked like rainbows in the light.

"Wow," Jack said. "I wouldn't miss this for the world," he said. The second sun now followed the first's example and came up painting the world its colour: blue – so light that it was almost white but with a hint of yellow in it.

John stood behind them. He turned around. The sky behind them was still dark and lacked everything the day was bringing in. "They have all this and they're living on selling booze," he commented quietly so that the two wouldn't hear them. He took Jack's hand – the other didn't seem to mind. He even squeezed it gently. Then he closed his eyes to keep the sight on his eyelids for just a little longer. With his free hand he pressed a sequence of buttons on his wrist strapped. They disappeared leaving Zoe with the beautiful sunrise, a bag of stolen machinery and a guarantee that wanted posters with her face would be hanging all over the town the next day.

o*o*o

Andy was sitting opposite the suspect by the metal desk in the interrogation room. He felt weird. It was his first time in homicide and he was already interrogating someone. An alien and in secret, yes, but interrogating. They all agreed it would be best if they kept it a secret, like Torchwood always did.

"So..." he started. He didn't really know what to ask. The man in front of him had handcuffs but Andy knew perfectly well that that wasn't going to stop him if he tried to escape. And the fact that he still hadn't tried ensured Andy that the alien really was looking for help. "Maybe... what's your name? You seem to know English."

"Murro Lebiexantrov" the Wart said.

"Right, that sounds just a little bit Russian..." Andy could feel his whole body sweating. He was probably more wet than the alien. "Gwen dealt with this sort of things daily," he whispered to himself. "Can I call you Mr. Murro? I don't have to try to know I won't be able to say your surname properly."

"Just Murro is fine," the aliens voice was so low it almost felt like a whisper. Like water, Andy thought.

"OK... what is your purpose in coming to Earth?" Andy cursed his voice for wavering.

"It was an accident," Murro explained. "I was taken here by the light. It appeared out of nowhere and then I was... well here. Wherever this is. But I want to get back home. I feel bad here."

"Right... This is Earth if you've ever heard about this planet," Andy tried to continue questioning but the alien continued speaking.

"Can you help me? I can barely breath here, it's so dry," it drank the whole glass of water in one go.

"You killed numerous humans," Andy said using the occasion that Murro stopped and was drinking.

"I apologize for that," Murro was awfully calm. "It was only when I was desperate and couldn't find any other source of water. Help me go back to my own planet and I will leave yours alone."

"Right... I don't know how," Andy said. "I think I can arrange for water but you will have to wait until we find a way to get you back. You won't kill _me_, right?" Andy gulped.

The Wart laughed quietly. He pointed his finger at the three six-packs of water lying next to the table. "As long as this doesn't shrink to zero, You're fine."

o*o*o

Gwen's heart was beating fast. She was more nervous than ever. She just left Andy with a possibly hostile alien, _alone_, and was now riding with Ianto who was just about to ask questions about his past. She knew he realized that she had lied to him earlier and now she didn't have any clue what she would tell him. The only thing that she wished for at the moment was that Jack was in the car to help her deal with Ianto, the alien and Andy. They were already driving for a few minutes and he was probably getting ready to ask questions.

"So... Torchwood, eh?" Ianto started. "What did we do exactly?" he asked.

Gwen bit her lips. She found it really hard to concentrate on the driving.

"I know about aliens, I've just apprehended one and I seem to have been dead for some time – according to that policeman, Andy," Ianto continued. "Pretty crazy, that sales office." He laughed but he didn't sound to too cheerful.

"What do you want me to say, Ianto?" Gwen bursted.

"I want the truth! I have lost five years of my life and I want to know what happened! Because from what I can tell I probably died in the process too. I forgot everything!"

"Some of us aren't that lucky!" Gwen was shouting, desperately trying to look at the road instead of Ianto. "You have no idea what Torchwood does to people. You have a chance to start a new life, a normal life! I've seen so many people die and all that because of Torchwood! Because we either caused it or couldn't stop it! I've seen my colleges die and then come to life again just too die an even worse death. Because that's what Torchwood does to all of us! It isolates us from the world and either kills us or makes us suffer! Or both! And you know what was the worst?" Gwen wiped her tears. "Seeing my boyfriend dead! And holding him, holding his still warm but cooling body! Thinking I will never ever see him again! And I don't want to see you die again. Because to be honest, you look the same as when I've last seen you. You look like a ghost and you're as cold as a deadman."

"I'm alive!" Ianto protested. "I have a heartbeat! It's faint and slow, but it's there!"

"That's good, Ianto, that's very good..." Gwen could feel tears flowing down her face. "Then don't lose it again," she said. She took a deep breath. She knew what Ianto was going to say now.

"I deserve to know," Ianto said. He was more calm now, his voice more quiet, probably not expecting to get too much information from Gwen.

"I won't tell you," the policewoman said. "It's dangerous."

"If Torchwood caused so much pain, why join it?" Ianto asked the question which was on his mind since the beginning.

Gwen sighed. What could she say? The thrill, excitement were part of the joy but then came the satisfaction. Every successful mission, every new wonder and most importantly: every live saved, all that made Torchwood bearable, it made her and every other member of the team love it.

"Because it was wonderful..." she said longingly.

Ianto remained silent for a few long moments.

"Can you take me to my sister?" Ianto asked calmly. "She lives..."

Gwen's voice was confident: "No," she said.

Ianto was surprised. He didn't expect Gwen's denial in this case. He tried saying something but all that came out were mumblings.

"At least not now," Gwen explained. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry but I just don't want your sister to have hope. After all you're not exactly..."

"Alive? Me?" Ianto finished for Gwen. But he didn't protest. He understood perfectly well what she was trying to convey.

"You can stay with us – me and Rhys and Alex – for now," Gwen said, her voice now more gentle.

"Won't I cause trouble?" Ianto asked sincerely concerned about that matter.

"Oh come on!" Gwen said. "If you just make that miracle coffee of yours for us, that'll be all the help we need!"

Ianto smiled. He caught another hint of his previous life. He wanted to ask about it but the atmosphere would become grave again and he didn't want to cause that again. If Gwen wasn't going to tell him he promised he would find out himself what happened to him. And the quicker he would tell that to his new landlady, the better.

The rest of the ride passed on Gwen telling about Alex's short life with all the details and then clumsily explaining what changed throughout the past five years. Ianto also asked about his sister but Gwen refused to tell him anything except that they were doing fine.

"I don't really know much about your family," she explained. "And I last saw her a few months ago." _On your funeral, _she added in her head.

Gwen pulled up by the gate of their suburban house. Ianto could see from the look on her face that she was truly happy that she was finally coming home. Her smile faded when she realized she would have to explain everything to Rhys.

The door opened before they even approached it.

Rhys had seen many unusual things in his life including aliens, aliens and more aliens but he had never seen a dead man walk again. He stood there in shock for a few seconds, unable to say anything. Before Gwen could explain anything he passed her, greeting her quickly with a peck on the cheek. "It's so good to see you, Ianto!" he said hugging him.

"Right, nice to..." he uttered desperately trying to say anything meaningful. But the thought of a strange man who knew him well – or so it seemed – hugging him made him feel awkward. He was stiff, unsure if he should return the hug or not. Thankfully Gwen was there.

"Rhys," she started, "Ianto doesn't really remember," she said. "He doesn't remember the past five years of his life and Torchwood."

Rhys let go of Ianto. "Right, sorry, I'm Rhys Williams," he introduced himself. He felt a bit awkward about the situation but didn't let it stay in his head for too long.

"Ianto Jones, but I presume everybody knows that already," Ianto shook Rhys' hand.

"I'll show you around the house," Gwen said taking his hand and leading him towards the door.

They went inside. Everything was new and renovated. "This is the kitchen, the bathroom, the living room," Gwen added a short comment wherever they went. She went with him around the house showing each accommodation. They didn't go into Alex's room because the boy was sleeping – there was a sign on the door left by Rhys that said so. The last room she showed her was the guest room back downstairs. "This is where you'll sleep," she said. "I'll bring you some of your clothes later. You can take a nap if you want. Rhys will be preparing dinner later."

She wanted to leave Ianto in the room but the man stopped her. "You know where my things are?" he asked. "I kept a diary, didn't I? Can I at least see it? I know I kept one and if I could see it then maybe..."

Gwen looked at him. "There's not much left of it..." she said. "I'll bring it with the clothes," she was very hesitant when she said that.

And then Ianto was left in the room alone. He really felt tired. He knew his body wasn't working properly.

The room was quite small. There was an unfolding couch, a bookshelf and a closet. Ianto walked around nervously putting his hands up and down unable to express himself. He felt tears welling in his eyes. The gravity of all that had happened that day finally reached him. He had lost five years of his life in a blink of an eye. From what he could deduce, five _extraordinary _years of his life. And all that he had left from them were facts. Bits of information that wouldn't help him in anything. They were inhumane, irrelevant to a normal person.

After a short while filled with these kinds of thoughts he sat down. He checked his heartbeat. He smiled.

"It's faster," he whispered. Just a tiny bit but it was faster, he was sure of it.

Sounds coming from the kitchen disturbed him. He could hear Gwen and Rhys discussing something. It took him mere seconds to realize that the conversation's subject was him.

"You didn't tell him?" said Rhys surprised it was even possible. Ianto couldn't hear Gwen. "You said it yourself, you didn't even know he had a life outside Torchwood and now that he has forgotten everything about it you won't even tell him what he used to do."

"What if he wants to go back?" Gwen explained herself.

"He won't!" Rhys seemed to be really confident. "As long as Jack is gone Torchwood is never coming back."

"Today we arrested an alien," Gwen said. "Torchwood isn't the only way of fighting against aliens!"

"But Ianto wasn't connected to any of them!" Rhys continued. "He wouldn't work for UNIT or any other organization. You know that his loyalty lay with Jack and only him.

Gwen didn't answer. Ianto knew she didn't say anything.

"You think it's that memory pill?" Rhys asked.

"Retcon? No. No, no, no, no... That's not it. If it were Retcon then he'd already remembered something. Something about me or Jack or Torchwood. He's seen me and he's seen an alien. Plus, he didn't react to any of the names I told him about. If it were Retcon he would've at least had some memory of Torchwood by now. No, this, whatever it is, seems to work differently," Gwen said. "Anyways, I should get going, I have to pick up his clothes."

"His clothes are still in Torchwood?" Rhys asked surprised.

"Most of his belongings are stored in a warehouse. Standard procedure," Gwen explained.

Ianto waited a few moments before he heard the door shut. He was tired. He wanted to fall asleep for a few hours but he found himself remembering the coffin. He couldn't close his eyes not to feel the darkness surrounding him. He fought with his fatigue till his mind closed off and he fell asleep.

o*o*o

Gwen arrived at the isolated garages in her blue Honda. She had to take a few deep breaths before stepping out of the car. "Here we go," she said to herself and opened the door. This place held so many memories. She headed towards one of the garages. The one that had all of Ianto's belongings stored in it. Or at least all that was left of them. She pushed a combination of buttons on the automatic lock right next to the door. In reality she wanted to forget it but she just couldn't get herself to do so.

The door opened and revealed an spacious but almost empty storage room. Her footsteps echoed as she stepped inside. There were barely three big boxes of Ianto's things. She went towards the first one. She could feel tears flowing down her face.

The box had four sets of suits and ties that Ianto always wore to work. The ones with the violet and red vests were his favorites. She then went on to the next box. She smiled through her tears. It was the broken coffee machine. Next to it lay the only cup that miraculously survived the explosion: Jack's blue and white striped tesco mug – chipped on the ear, she heard from Owen that it was the only survival of their original set. All the others disappeared without a trace when nobody was around. Toshiko had suspected that Ianto was not always so good with his coffee machine. She turned it over. Jack's signature was barely visible after so much using and washing but the faint sign made with a marker remained. She left everything inside. She couldn't help wondering if the machine could ever be repaired. The last box, a lot smaller than the rest had what Ianto wanted. His diaries. All six of them covered in neat handwriting were now black, covered in smudge. Some words were visible but no phrase or sentence was readable. The edges were all burnt.

Gwen put the diaries in the box with the suits, took it and left the storage room as quickly as possible. She wiped her tears once more when putting the box in her trunk. She thought if the diaries weren't burnt would she bring them to Ianto.

She sat back behind the wheel. Her phone rang before she could even start the engine. It was Andy.

"Hi Gwen," he said. "I just spoke to Murro, I mean the alien. Can we arrange for an aquarium?"

o*o*o

Rhys was a better cook than Ianto expected. He made vegetarian pasta done from probably an Italian recipe judging by the spices added.

"This is delicious!" Ianto said having already finished half his plate.

"Thanks," Rhys wasn't used to anyone praising his dishes. He swallowed another mouthpiece. "So Ianto," he started. "What exactly do you remember... If you don't mind me asking."

Ianto put down his fork. "No, of course not," he said. "The last thing I remember is Lisa, a girl I met just once. She was really pretty, but I... I forgot to ask her number," Ianto smiled sadly. "I reckon I'd never see her again. I was working part time at a cafe and she was my customer and we sort of clicked. I lost my chance though... The rest of the day passed normally and then nothing, I don't remember a thing," he hesitated. He remembered the coffin. Was it really true what happened then? Or was it just a dream? He decided to keep that experience to himself. "I woke up near the bay and half an hour later Gwen finds me! And she told you what happened afterwards. I guess I was quite lucky."

"Yes, she always seems to be in the right place" Rhys looked at Gwen. His eyes were drilling into her mind obviously trying to convey something.

"Well all right," Gwen said giving up. "But I'm not saying much. Ianto, I won't tell you everything about your past life, Jack would kill me if I did, but I can tell you this: I only knew you from work. We were all working in Torchwood: me, you, Jack, Owen and Tosh. But then again, Torchwood absorbed most of our lives, especially yours and Jack's. You may find this impossible to believe in but we... we fought aliens."

"Oh, after today it's not really that hard," Ianto commented.

"I guess so... Well, Owen and Toshiko are... well they," Gwen found it very hard to say those words.

"I understand," Ianto interrupted. For some reason he knew about what had happened without really knowing any of the details.

"Yes, we continued working. Us and Jack. Jack was our boss. And about nine months ago they came. The 456. Aliens. The worst aliens we've ever encountered. They wanted to take the children. 10% of worlds children. You can imagine the panic. We eventually stopped them, but... the Hub, our headquarters, was destroyed and you, well, died. Jack eventually wandered off into the universe. It wasn't the first time he's done that but it sure felt like the last. We were all bonded in Torchwood, somehow. Like a family but then not like a family at all," Gwen finished obviously finding her memories very fond. She quickly regained her former self. "Anyways, that's all I'm saying. Nothing more! You won't make me!"

Gwen stood up. She went out of the kitchen and came back with four small notebooks. She passed them to Ianto.

"They won't help you much," she said. "Sorry."

"Thank you," Ianto said looking at his diaries. He didn't open them. "For these, and for the food," he ensured himself that everyone finished eating and stood up. "I seem to be really tired, if you'll excuse me," he left the room squeezing all his diaries in both his hands.

He shut himself in his room. There was no way he would give up on his past. However dangerous it might have been. He searched the room for any empty paper and something he could write with. He took the first diary. He tried desperately to find anything, any lead on his previous life, anything that could maybe help him get his memories back. He stared at the black pages. The words that survived made no sense. Mostly they were just phrases that without any context were impossible to understand. Sometimes they were adjectives or nouns. There was one name that appeared particularly often. Jack. His boss and apparently friend as well. And he didn't even know what he looked like.

And then there was that one word. One word that made him truly understand the gravity of his situation. It was love. He understood. He felt tears flowing down his face. It wasn't just about him. It was about everyone he knew, everyone he met. It was about the late Toshiko and Owen. He couldn't remember them. There was nothing: no voices, no faces… It was all blank. And what about all the rest? The ones only he remembered? The ones only he knew? What of them? It would be as if they never existed in the first place. And it only brought pain, for him and for everybody else.

He noticed something about the memories he still had. The ones about the Wart and the Weevils and all those other aliens he seemed to know of. He felt nothing towards them. No fear, no hatred, no compassion, nothing. On the other hand, everything he felt was dear to him was gone.

He wiped his tears but they didn't stop. He hid his face in the small notebook. He stayed like that for some time until he had finally calmed down. He lifted his head. With the corner of his eye he noticed a photograph that had fell from between the pages. Half of it was burnt. The part which survived had a man and a woman on it. And what looked like Gwen's shoulder as well. The man looked as if he wasn't too pleased with having his photograph taken. The woman on the other hand, seemed to be the one making him stand there for the photo. She was pulling his hand and trying to pose with him.

"Toshiko and Owen," he knew instinctively. He put the photograph back in between the pages. He glanced at the clock standing on one of the shelves. It was twenty past midnight. Futile deciphering of his diary took him quite a long time. He closed his eyes for a moment. Then looked back up again. It was almost six hours later. Still dark.

He slipped out of the room and into the bathroom. He looked at his face in the mirror. He wasn't as pale as yesterday. He didn't look as dead as he looked the last time he had seen himself. He measured his pulse. It was faster than yesterday. Only slightly but he was almost sure that it was quicker. It seemed that he was getting more alive. The mere fought made him laugh with irony.

He made himself coffee and left the house.

* * *

><p>Part 3 tomorrow. Thanks for reading :)<p> 


	3. Episode 1: Part 3

**A/N:** I do apologize for he confusion after changing the title of this story. I know I originally wanted to make each "episode" into a different story but as I continue to write I think that the episodes are too connected to be in separate stories. Hence, all the episodes will remain in this story which is from this moment on called **Torchwood: Consequences **(Spirit of Water - this is temporary until this Friday, so that all of you connect this story to the original title, hope it helps). Again, huge apologies on my part, I'm terrible at organization. It will be the only change of this sort.

Here is the ending of _Episode 1: The Spirit of Water _hope you enjoy it :)

* * *

><p>Andy was walking around looking at the aquarium every few seconds.<p>

"So, that's your real form?" he asked looking at the alien.

Murro Lebiexantrov had six limbs: two hands and four octopus legs floating on the water, his head and body above.

"Yes," Murro said. "For swimming..." he added after a short pause.

Andy stopped.

"I'm sorry I don't know how to bring you back," he said. He became really familiar with his new friend since he was stuck with him for several hours the day before. Gwen came to check up on him in the evening but it seemed unnecessary. Aside from her helping him find a temporary home for Murro of course. He already felt more comfortable around the outer-space form of life. And Murro seemed really gentle. "As soon as we find anything I'll tell you," he added.

"Thank you," the alien said softly.

"And... Um... sorry for locking you in a cage like this. I really can't let you out. You know, if you might get... hungy again..."

Murro didn't answer but the silence wasn't awkward at all. It felt almost reassuring. Andy leaned on the glass cage and slid down.

"Gwen had to do this every day," he reminded himself once more.

o*o*o

Ianto arrived at the police station. He went to the reception desk. The woman behind it looked at him a bit annoyed. It was still early and she looked half awake. There was probably a coffee waiting for her to get back to it under the desk.

"Good morning," he greeted her.

The woman looked at him awaiting to hear his problem.

"I'd like to inquire about somebody," Ianto said. "His name is Captain Jack Harkness."

The woman looked at him. "I'm afraid I can't grant you any information."

"Is it because of who he is or because you can't give information away?" Ianto asked. The woman's look was enough of an answer. Ianto guessed she just wanted an easy way out of it. "But I really need that information. I need to know who he is!"

"If you have some sort of problem with him you should ask the police to handle it," the woman said.

"Ianto?" Andy appeared out of nowhere next to him. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, good morning, hi," Ianto greeted the PC not knowing how familiar he should be with him. "I'm just... trying to figure some things out. Gwen never cared to explain anything beyond the basics."

"I know, she does that," Andy said. "She wouldn't tell me anything about that Torchwood of hers. So I had to figure some things out myself," he looked at the receptionist and saw her growing impatient. "Right, please answer all his questions Maggie," he said to her and returned to look at Ianto. "Well, I got to go, so good luck," he said and continued towards the centre of the building.

Ianto returned his attention to the receptionist.

"There's no one by the name of Captain Jack Harkness in our records," the woman said.

"What about Torchwood?" Ianto didn't give up.

The woman checked once more. "Nope."

Ianto remembered their weird conversation in the police car. "The Doctor."

The woman laughed. "Well there are lots of those here: Doctor Reynolds, Doctor Smith..."

Ianto cut in. "No, _the_Doctor," he remembered Gwen emphasizing the 'the'.

"No, just normal doctors," the receptionist said. "Anything more?" the woman was clearly annoyed.

"Yes, just one more," Ianto took a deep breath. He knew he should've tried this one since the very beginning. "Ianto Jones."

The woman took a few seconds to type the name in. "There's no Ianto Jones in the database either," she said casually.

Ianto took a step back. This was impossible. He wasn't in any police records. And he knew he had been arrested when he was young for some very minor crimes like shop lifting. He really wasn't the model student everyone thought he was.

"I don't exist..." he whispered quietly.

"Anything more?" Maggie asked.

Ianto shook his head and took a step back. He stood quietly in the middle of the hall, people walked pass him without even noticing his existence.

Finally when he decided to return to Gwen's home a person walked up towards him.

He was young, a student maybe. He was of average hight, he had brown and green eyes and his hair was blond with a tinge of ginger. He was wearing jeans, trainers and a leather jacket but the neat, white collar of his buttoned up shirt hidden underneath the jacket suggested he was working. He had a computer bag over his left shoulder. When he spoke pure Irish accent escaped his lips.

"You looking for Torchwood?" he asked.

Ianto nodded still in shock.

"It's sort of a banned subject around here," the man said. "You might as well forget trying to get anything out of this lot. There's a notion going around that nothing good ever comes from Torchwood. They barge in and say they're taking over and you have no choice but to obey. They corrupt all the evidence and there's usually some sort of tragedy involved."

"And you are...?" Ianto interrupted him. For some unknown reason he felt both offended and amused by the strangers words.

"Oh, sorry," the man said. "I'm Tobey, Tobey Magpie, I keep the computers running properly," he explained.

"Ianto Jones," he shook Tobey's hand.

"Anyways, you'd better watch your guard around Torchwood," he said. "They also kept breaking into the police's computer system for a while. I'm not supposed to tell you that but you're not supposed to know about Torchwood. Anyways, that's how I found out about them. Even made themselves an account! Can you imagine that? So cocky! And when I came and asked about this user Torchwood nobody knew who it was!' Tobey was trying to act cool and relaxed but his voice was pitched just a tiny bit and he was obviously nervous. Ianto didn't knew if it was because he was a stranger to him or if it was because of the subject of the conversation. 'So I had to delete the account. But they kept breaking in so I did some snooping around. If you really want to know you could check that information desk at the bay. Somehow they're connected to it. I would suggest you just leave Torchwood alone but what do I know? I've been telling myself that for the past few months yet I still keep looking. Anyways, if you want to talk more just ask for me here. See you later!" he continued his pace towards the elevator.

Ianto listened carefully to each and every word. At least now he had some lead. Tobey didn't seem like he'd know a lot more than he had said. And from the way he spoke Ianto could easily deduce he was just a bystander. But then again, a bystander can sometimes notice a lot more than all those involved.

o*o*o

Tobey looked around to see Ianto was leaving the police station. He knew that name and face from somewhere – maybe that's why he entrusted that information to him. Plus, he seemed so desperate Tobey couldn't help pitying him a little. The technician followed his every step from behind the computer screen, sitting in the lobby and waiting to arrive last minute at his work office. He noticed him from the moment he passed the entrance. He was thankful for that habit of his of checking the logs. From that he knew that Ianto Jones was looking for Torchwood. And he seemed to know Andy, who was once associated – and probably still was – with Gwen Cooper, the newest member of Torchwood. He did his homework after Toshiko Sato, the Torchwood IT person with such ease drilled into his defense system. He was her number one fan amazed at her computer skills.

Tobey went into his office and greeted each and every one of his work mates. There was a coffee waiting for him on his desk. He searched the room to find his mate, Kurt. He made a thanks gesture and got a wide grin in return. Kurt was their office's good doer. Sometimes he wondered how he had survived his internship without a Kurt like that in the office.

Tobey sat behind his desk and plugged his laptop into the police network. He searched the database for Ianto Jones. Nothing was there. But then again nothing was found under Torchwood either. A password was needed to get that sort of information. That wasn't a problem. He had already stolen the chief of police' password a long time ago figuring it wasn't a good idea to break into the system every time he needed something checked. He felt a bit guilty about it but figured that he wasn't using it to steal information for the mafia or some crime syndicate so he wasn't really committing any crimes.

He looked through the file. Ianto was a member of Torchwood. Then why would he be asking about it in the first place? Birth, home town, sex, characteristics, he read everything carefully. There wasn't much, there just couldn't be since he was working for Torchwood. Tobey scrolled down, the biography window was far too big for the amount of information written inside. And then on the bottom he read a very disturbing message. It said Ianto Jones was deceased.

Tobey stood up. This made no sense. He packed his computer and as quickly as he could land eft the police headquarters even faster. He didn't even give a proper explanation to his work mates.

He wanted to meet Torchwood and Toshiko Sato ever since their first cyber encounter. Although the second one was now impossible – all news disappeared around nine months ago – there was still that glimmer of hope left. He even wanted to try meeting them earlier but the tourist information desk had already closed when he had found out about it. And now he finally had the chance and let it slip through his fingers unnoticed.

o*o*o

Ianto looked at the stairs by the bay where he came to consciousness the other day. The entrance to the old tourist desk was close by and he had little doubt that it was not just a coincidence. It was late morning and he could imagine that Gwen was already crazy with anger and fear that he disappeared. She had seemed to be genuinely worried about him earlier.

The door to the tourist information was locked. He looked to see if nobody was around and tried to open the door by force. It didn't budge. He walked away holding his hurting arm. He stopped a few meters away from the door. There was Gwen. She was on the other end of the pathway looking at him with what seemed like pity.

"Did you figure this out?" she asked. "Or did someone tell you."

Now Ianto could be 100% sure that this was the right place.

"An IT person at the police station," Ianto explained. "Are you going to show me what's inside?" he asked.

Gwen shook her head. "I already told you," she said.

"Gwen," Ianto's voice was trembling. "I was not listed in the police database. I'm not anywhere! I should be. But I look like a ghost, feel faint all the time and I barely have any vital signs. And it's not just that. I _feel _dead. This whole thing, it feels like, if Torchwood isn't real then I'm not either. You said it yourself, it was my whole life!"

"Believe me, Ianto, Torchwood was real, you are a real person, Ianto," Gwen said closing in.

"Then prove it!" Ianto begged.

"You saw that alien yesterday, you remember aliens!" Gwen said.

"What if it's all a hoax?" Ianto was convinced not to lose to Gwen this time. "The thing about my memories, Gwen, is they don't have any value. To me it's all like something I learnt once and then just remembered. They're not dear to me! They're like multiplying: I know how, I use it and that's it!"

"Ianto, please don't do this," Gwen said, her defenses melting. She knew what it meant to show truth to wrong people. How she could ruin somebody's life just by saying one word too much, by showing them one image too much. She knew it was cowardly of her but she preferred somebody else take responsibility this time.

"I _need_ to know," Ianto said gazing at her with such intensity that she just couldn't bear it.

"I'm just going to open the door, OK? Nothing more," she said approaching the door. She took a key from her pocket and unlocked the door.

She went inside first and turned on the lights. She approached the desk and turned on the main power for the hub downstairs. Then she pressed the hidden red button and showed Ianto Torchwood.

Ianto looked around the Hub unable to utter a single word. And there, next to his amazement the thought appeared: why couldn't he remember it? Why, even now when he was standing in this unimaginable place his brain still cut off the memories of a place he spent at least a couple of years in.

Gwen on the other hand had completely different thoughts. She looked at the Hub with sadness in her eyes. The Hub was reconstructed but now it was just a huge storage room without any of the former equipment except for the Rift manipulator. Even the lights were different: the Hub was red from the backup lights shining from the walls. The halogens were shut dow and unless she turned the entire power on they would remain off probably for ever. The 'Torchwood' sign that looked like an underground station name remained but the tiles were new and covered in dust - it just didn't fit the Torchwood character. And the empty furniture – not only new but also without left over pizza on the couches or coats waiting for Ianto to pick them up and put away - just made the Hub look really distant and unfamiliar. It was quiet - silent. Gwen wanted to do only one thing: cry.

o*o*o

John let go of Jack's hand the moment he was sure that they teleported correctly. He didn't want Jack to think he was too pushy. Well with what he just wanted to do he was really pushy but it was the thought that counted.

They were back in the bar where they had their reunion. It was cleaned up already. All the bottles of alcohol were standing neatly on the shelves behind a counter. Too neatly. John jumped above the counter, took a bottle of blue liquid and threw it at Jack who caught it without any sweat. He then sat on the counter and after a solid gulp of his drink he started talking.

"Since when is your teleport broken?" he asked.

"Some time," Jack answered like it was some minor glitch.

"That certainly makes things easier," John murmured to himself. "Anyways, I have a request," he said. Jack lifted his eyebrows from behind his bottle. This was never a good thing. "I want you to return to Earth." Jack didn't respond. "And I want to join Torchwood..."

This made Jack almost spill his whole drink. "You what?" he asked although the question didn't need repeating.

"I want to join Torchwood."

Jack laughed.

"I'm serious!" John insisted.

"And why would you want to join Torchwood?" Jack asked.

"Oh, don't tell me you don't know! I'm jealous that's all! You run off, make your little team, find yourself a pretty boyfriend and I'm left behind! It's just boring! And you Torchwood lot looked like you were having fun!"

"No," Jack answered quickly and confidently.

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun!"

"I know what your 'fun' means and I'm saying 'no'!" Jack insisted.

"And there's that other thing..." John said.

Jack who was just lifting a bottle to his mouth stopped half way. "What other thing?"

"You see, the last time I was in Cardiff, I sort of made a mess of things, not in a bad way, of course," John explained. "I was trying to do a good deed once in a while. But then I thought that if I do it then I'll be the victim again. So I complicated some things," John's story seemed like total gibberish.

"John, what did you do?" Jack asked his voice now serious and demanding.

John ignored him and continued. "And then there's just one other thing..." he said. "I wanted to check up on Gwen, you know just meet, us being old friend and all, maybe see how she's doing, and I found out she had a baby. Except there was this one tiny problem... It's not entirely human, that baby boy..."

* * *

><p>So, this is the ending of this episode. Hope you liked it. Episode 2 will be published this Friday and hopefully will answer some questions but possibly it will create some new ones as well :)<p> 


	4. Episode 2: Part 1

**A/N:** So "episode" 2 is up! Hope you enjoy it. I only mean to say this for the comfort of your reading. The name "Aoife" is pronounced here "Ifa" (like Eva just with an f).

* * *

><p><strong>Episode 2: Another Captain<strong>

Jack materialized in a small alleyway between a shop and a fast food restaurant, judging by the smell coming from the trash bins. Aoife appeared just after him and cursed the minute she realized that something was wrong.

"That's no way for a lady to talk," Jack commented.

The girl glared at him with her one eye. The other one was hidden behind a metal patch. Nobody knew why she had both her eye and arm replaced with mechanic ones. She had just come back from a mission one day and had a robot arm instead of a human one.

"What's the mission this time?" Jack asked, a bit annoyed. Work was the only thing he could talk about with her.

"There are two orders: retrieval and assassination," Aoife said quickly. "But we have a problem."

Jack raised his eye brow. He never liked the sound of that, particularly if it came from Aoife's lips. She was the kind of person who just took everything seriously, work especially. She would always be prepared for any malfunction.

"There's a rift running through this town."

Jack looked at his partner. He never bothered with reading the instructions when going on a mission with Aoife because she would always be prepared but this time he regretted not knowing anything.

"It interfered with our teleports. We have no energy left for another leap. We have to wait for them to recharge."

"And how long will that take?" Jack asked, both relieved that it wasn't anything more serious and annoyed at the thought of being stuck on Earth, especially in Cardiff.

"Approximately one week for me," the girl said, "and probably twice as long for you."

"Why does mine take longer to recharge?" Jack was already annoyed.

"Yours is bigger," the girl explained. "It uses up more energy."

Jack wanted to say something but thought better of it. He didn't want to risk another quarrel with his temporary partner. She had much more experience and her word was worth a lot more than his in the Time Agency. And she obviously hated him - that was the reason why they were partners so often. She was the only person in the whole Agency that wouldn't give in to his flirts or even his jokes.

"Well, it'll be more fun this way," he said and once again was ignored. He waited patiently for a reaction but got nothing. "At least tell me more details!" he said seeing how his partner was already walking away.

"Last time Nathan was here, on this planet, he left something of his and it got into human hands," the girl said. "And it's a couple hundred years too early for humans to have it. They stored it in a bank of some sort."

"Great, and what is it that Nathan lost, and why isn't he the one retrieving it?" Jack asked.

"Nathan proved himself to be incompetent." There was no emotions in the girl's voice.

Jack gulped. 'Do you mean that he...?" He wasn't able to finish the sentence. The rules in the Agency were quite strict but he never imagined a death penalty for something as trivial as losing an object.

"No," the girl figured out what he wanted to say. "But he will go through the basic training again..."

Jack let out a sigh of relief.

"With Major Thomas Brown," she finished.

"Ouch! That's harsh." Jack commented again. "And what did he lose this time?"

"He lost Fluffy."

"You mean he lost his pet?" Jack was truly surprised. "That metal ball that used to follow him around?" The girl nodded. "He called it Fluffy?" he asked after a few seconds of silence. Another nod.

Jack decided to let the matter go. The Time Agency was made up of all kinds of people but it had some principals. Looking at Nathan one put all of them into consideration. He was a walking ball of pacifism, optimism and pure happiness. He had no guns or weapons yet whatever the mission was he always got it finished. And he never had a partner other than that metal ball of his, Fluffy.

"So when your teleport is charged you will..." Jack returned to the former subject. He knew what the answer would be but preferred to ensure himself in case he was miraculously be mistaken.

"I will leave you," the girl said naturally.

"Right, that was expected." Jack followed the girl out of the alleyway and into the street.

o*o*o

Tobey was sitting in his usual place in the lobby of the Cardiff police headquarters. His laptop was open on his laps and showing him the latest news. But he wasn't interested in that. He was waiting for somebody. He kept glancing at the door waiting for that policeman to come in. His name was Andy. Apparently temporarily working in the homicide department replacing for the ill detective Anderson. From today he was going to return to being a normal PC as Anderson had now returned to work.

It wasn't long when Andy came through the door. Tobey closed his laptop and packed it into his backpack as quickly as possible. He knew he should have just bought a newspaper like normal people do. He stood up and ran towards Andy.

"Hi Andy," he said before Andy could even stop and take a good look at him. "I just want to ask you a few questions concerning the man you spoke to the day before."

Andy looked clueless as to who was he referring to.

"I wanted to talk to you yesterday but you said you were meeting your friend, Gwen," Tobey continued.

"Oh, yeah, I was meeting Gwen," Andy remembered but it was just images that didn't make sense. "Although I don't remember what we were talking about... And I certainly don't remember you."

"Tobey Magpie, I work in IT," Tobey said, his voice slower and his eyes cautious. Something was wrong. "You see you were talking to a man called Ianto Jones the other day," Tobey tried again. "Could I ask you..."

Andy cut in.

"Is this a joke?" he asked.

"No, why would this...?" Tobey tried to understand what Andy had meant by that.

"The last time I saw Ianto Jones was nine months ago - he died."

"Yes, I know," Tobey was getting more and more nervous. "Could you keep it down, this isn't exactly a private conversation..." he said quietly. "I checked the files and it says there that Ianto Jones is dead. But he was here. I spoke with him - you spoke with him! Are you sure you don't remember?"

Andy shook his head confused. His memory seemed blank. "In fact... I don't really remember anything from the past few days. We were working on this case and it was a bit weird so I thought I'd ask Gwen and then... Oh no, she didn't..."

"Did what?" Tobey asked.

"But Ianto! It's impossible, Ianto is dead," Andy continued with his train of thoughts.

"I thought so too but I was evidently wrong. Come with me!"

Tobey pulled Andy towards the elevator. He led him to his cubicle, greeting everybody halfheartedly on the way and turned on his computer.

"Now look," he said breaking into the police security system.

"Is this legal? You're not exactly a police officer, are you?" Andy asked seeing how Tobey was going through all the holes in the firewalls.

"Well..." Tobey avoided the answer. He contributed to the system and this made him feel like he was allowed to "guard" it and occasionally look through it when he needed something.

He finally got to the camera recordings. "Look at this," he said and put on the video.

It presented the whole lobby. Tobey pointed at the reception desk. He fast forwarded a few minutes and played it normally when Ianto came by the desk. Andy watched as Ianto asked some questions and a few seconds later he saw himself talking normally to his dead friend. Tobey turned the video off.

"Oh my God..." Andy said.

"Do you want to know what he was looking for?" Tobey turned to face Andy. The PC nodded. "He wanted to know about Torchwood.

"But he..."

"He's from Torchwood, I know," Tobey continued. "But he seemed to have forgotten about it. I didn't know who he was at that time and just pointed him towards the bay – I had searched there earlier but found nothing so I thought what bad would it do? But then I saw he was from Torchwood and I tried following him. By the time I arrived there he was already gone. So I went back and I saw him on the street with this girl, Gwen Cooper, but I think you know her better then I do. She was in Torchwood as well."

"What are you trying to say..." Andy asked but he already knew.

"You forgot and Ianto Jones forgot..." Tobey started but couldn't finish. Andy suddenly stood up. "Hey, where are you going?"

Andy stormed out of the room and bumped into Detective Anderson.

"I'm sorry sir," he said and before he could continue he realized who he was talking to. "Detective Anderson!" he was clearly surprised to see his superior healthy. "Are you well now?" he asked.

"Yes," Anderson replied. Andy gulped awaiting what came next. The detective's eyes were emotionless as he told him he wasn't needed anymore.

Andy easily figured out that what he really meant was that he was no good and there was no chance for any future promotion.

Tobey watched this scene from the door. He followed Andy knowing he might lead him to what Torchwood really is. He had one connection and was not going to let it go now. He saw disappointment in Andy's eyes, carefully hidden from the detective. It wasn't hard to figure out he needed someone to talk to right now.

He looked at Tobey. "Care for something to drink?" he asked half smiling.

o*o*o

Andy brought two cups of tea and passed one to Tobey.

"So how did you get involved in Torchwood?" he asked the computer expert.

"They kept hacking into the systems," Tobey explained. "I tried everything possible but whatever I did they were always one step ahead. So I started digging but although it seems that everybody knows about Torchwood nobody really has any concrete information. So I got stuck. It's like they exist but you never really notice them. They don't appear in the police network and only the higher-ups have any sort of information on them. But before I got anywhere close they were gone! There was no trace of them anywhere. And I was so close to finding them."

"Gwen used to be my partner, you know?" Andy said and took a sip from his bottle. "We were really close once. Then one day she became obsessed with Torchwood. Next thing you know, she's working with them, walking about like she's all high and mighty. They said she joined black-ops but Torchwood was so much more than that."

"Oh, no way!" Tobey saw right through Andy's annoyance. "You had a crush on her!" he said.

Andy tried riposting but his tongue-tied words just made his explanations seem more and more like lies. He finally gave up.

"But Rhys is fine," Andy said. "I never said it but he's really a nice bloke. I may have some objections against him but he does a great job as her husband."

"Does he know about Gwen's job?" Tobey asked returning to the former subject of Torchwood.

"I don't know. Knowing Gwen she would do anything not to tell him. She thinks she does everyone a favor..." Andy said quietly.

"So do you think she erased your memory - if that's even possible?" Tobey asked carefully. He wanted to know everything about Torchwood. He felt guilty about using Andy like that. But he thought he might also be doing him a favor.

"Oh it's possible, I'm sure of that," Andy said. "Otherwise it's a wonder how they managed to stay secret. And yes, Gwen would do that," he added before Tobey articulated his question.

Tobey swallowed before asking the next question. "Do you keep a diary?"

Andy shook his head. He was so resigned that it was hard for Tobey to look at him. The technician couldn't even start to imagine how Andy felt about being betrayed like that. Because to him it was betrayal. And not only did his former partner and best friend erase his memory he had just lost a chance for promotion.

"OK, I'll put it in a different way," Tobey said. He couldn't let this case go. "If something happened that Gwen Cooper wouldn't want you to know about would you suspect she would do something like this? Would you leave yourself a message?"

Andy raised his head. He looked at Tobey for a few times trying to figure out the answer. In fact he had known it since the beginning. He would. He wasn't as stupid as everybody thought he was. He just became resigned too quickly sometimes. In fact, the only reason why he didn't push Gwen about Torchwood was because he respected her. And he hoped for the same from her. He wasn't exactly angry with her but disappointed that she made him forget.

There was one place where he would leave himself a message like that: the cupboard. He didn't know why but he always stored all his important belongings behind the row of tea cups above the kitchen table.

He rushed into the kitchen and indeed, there was a letter addressed to him behind his colorfully stripped mug. It was even neatly closed and addressed with his clumsy writing.

"It's here," he informed Tobey.

He opened it while leaving the kitchen. It was definitely his handwriting.

"Dear Andy," it wrote, "I can't believe I'm writing to myself like this. I'm writing this because Gwen just called. She said she wanted to meet but I'm guessing it's something more than just that. She said she wanted to talk about it and she sounded dead serious and a bit sad as well. I'm guessing she doesn't want me to know or get involved anymore. So in case she does somehow erase my memory (if Ianto had his memory erased then why can't I?) I'm leaving the address to Mr. Murro (I don't even know how to spell his last name). Meet him. Love, You."

"Tobey? This is the address for the aquarium, right?" he gave him the letter with the address.

"Looks like it, yeah." Tobey was surprised by Andy's eagerness. He felt a bit guilty about this turn of events. What if he ruined Andy and Gwen's friendship? But his curiosity and egoism was stronger. If he could get closer to Torchwood even by one tip toe... as long as it didn't involve him getting hurt he would. He cursed his cowardliness because of which he didn't step any closer before, on his own.

"Then we're going out!" Andy said smiling.

o*o*o

Gwen entered the empty room. The lights were off and only the lamps in the fish tank were shining faintly. This room was closed for renovation - theoretically. In fact, she had arranged it so that they could hide the alien from both the police and people. The staff weren't allowed to enter this room.

Gwen had spoken with the alien only once before. For a very short time when she helped Andy transport him here. Andy kept nagging her about how it's not a bad person, but from her experience it was never as easy as that. Nothing ever was or would be black and white.

Only a fifth of the tank was filled with water. Although Murro was a water creature he didn't necessarily like to swim under the surface.

Gwen approached the creature. It swam towards her.

"Hello, Mrs Cooper," Murro said calmly.

"Hi." Gwen felt the tension rising. She could feel it becoming more and more nervous - probably because the alien felt most comfortable around Andy and now that he was gone it felt insecure.

"What happened to Andrew?" it asked.

Gwen felt abashed by the alien's straightforwardness. "I... I erased his memory of you," she said, feeling unable to fight against its questions. She was planning to tell a lie but she just couldn't do it.

"Why would you do that?" the alien asked again. Its calm voice made it seem even more angry and nervous.

"Because I can't get him involved," Gwen answered. "It's too dangerous."

"Did he have a say in this?"

"No, but if he had he wouldn't let me do it," Gwen tried to protect herself. "And I don't want anyone else to get hurt..."

Gwen felt weird. She felt like she could tell him anything. Her former caution disappeared and now she only felt trust towards the alien. But after years of working for Torchwood she learned not to trust odd feelings, especially around aliens. Murro was suspicious. He was doing something. No doubt about it. She had dealt with aliens long enough to know when something wasn't right. She wanted to keep those thoughts to herself but couldn't help saying them out loud.

"You're making me say this, aren't you?" Words escaped from her lips.

The alien didn't answer. Gwen looked at it with ambiguous feelings. She was mad at both the alien and herself. But most of all she was really furious with Jack. She remembered this feeling from when he disappeared that time. And this time her anger was even stronger.

She couldn't stand the growing tension. The alien knew exactly how to make her nervous and mad without actually doing anything. Gwen left without saying anything, fists clenched and guilt growing.

o*o*o

Ianto greeted Gwen with a cup of coffee when she got home. She smiled remembering this feeling from Torchwood. She asked him to make it on her way back and he finished the coffee at the exact time she came in. For the past few days he had been living with Gwen and Rhys and the baby. He kept convincing them that he will move out as soon as he gets a job and he went out every day to look for one.

"Thanks Ianto," Gwen said unconsciously using the same tone of voice she would use in Torchwood. "How's Alex?" she asked. Rhys had work and Gwen had some unfinished business to attend to, so Ianto was now the perfect babysitter - always available when needed.

"Sleeping," Ianto said.

Gwen couldn't take her eyes off of him. Ianto wore a suit only when he went job-hunting and in the house he usually wore more casual clothes. She still couldn't get used to the jumpers and jeans. She had explained it to Ianto earlier when he asked so he wasn't bothered by the curious gazes now.

He went back to the kitchen to finish his lunch and watch the news. He had become almost obsessed with learning about everything that had happened during the past five years. And he wondered why was it that whenever he had heard about something he found himself knowing that it had happened already.

Gwen wasn't surprised by his behaviour and didn't complain - she knew she would have done the same. She also suspected that he didn't just disappear to look for a job every morning but that he also searched for answers to his past. Anything that could unlock the hidden memories. She didn't tell him anything more though. Maybe Rhys gave him a few hints but nothing more than that. She kept her promise about not saying anything more about Torchwood. Guilt overwhelmed her but she had bared(had bared) it once before with Rhys so she could do it once more.

Alex was indeed sleeping and there was nothing worse than waking him up, so Gwen left the room as quietly as she came in and found Ianto in front of the television. It was quite loud but she couldn't hear it from the babies room up stairs. She smiled knowing that that was no accident but in fact Ianto's consideration for Alex.

"Last minute news," the speakers lady said gathering their attention, "there has just been a break into the Cardiff National Bank. The culprits are still inside the building and the police are on their way. According to a witness who phoned the police after seeing two suspicious looking people entering the bank. The culprits are a man and a woman in military clothing. First CCTV footage is just being sent over." The presenter did her best to speak calmly but she was obviously nervous about the sudden change of articles.

The screen did indeed show two people standing in the bank. One of them - a woman - was operating a computer that seemed to be attached to her arm and the man was standing in the middle of the main hall with two guns, possibly threatening the hostages. Gwen recognized the man's face immediately.

"No way..." she uttered. "That can't be..."

o*o*o

Andy and Tobey arrived at the aquarium. The parking was almost empty - it was neither the tourist nor the field trip season. They entered the building and saw a bored girl behind the ticket desk. She quickly hid the sudoku book as soon as she heard the opening door but she was just seconds too late and both of the men saw what was occupying the girl's free time.

"How can I help you?" she tried to hide her embarrassment.

Andy hesitated for a second. He didn't know what exactly to ask about. Thankfully Tobey had no such problem.

"We're with..." he started to say Torchwood but the girl interrupted.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said noticing Andy. "Go on ahead," she said talking directly to Andy.

"Thanks..." the policeman said and looked briefly at the name tag clipped on her chest. "Anne."

They went inside, Tobey noticed all the security cameras. There were two watching the lobby and obviously there were more of them in the maze of the aquarium. They didn't want to be perceived as suspicious standing in the middle or going the wrong way than they should.

There were two corridors each leading to the tanks full of water creatures. The arrow sign next to the first one stated "deep sea fish" and "sea mammals". The other corridor was leading to "water reptiles and amphibians" as well as "lake and river fish".

"We're going that way," Andy pointed at the second branch. Tobey looked at him, seeking an explanation. Andy pointed at the map in between the corridors. He pointed at one of the rooms that was supposedly displaying reptiles was labelled 'in renovation' and off limits to visitors.

The aquarium was nearly empty. In fact, there wasn't a ghost present where Tobey and Andy were going. Tobey was looking at the tanks full of fishes. He shivered seeing a swarm of piranhas circling around in one of them. At one point he went too close to the glass and one of the eels bumped against the tank scaring him. He jumped and accidentally pressed the speaker button and the computer started generating a narration about the nature of electric eels.

Andy couldn't even take a second to laugh at his colleague.

Tobey was startled. Andy on the other hand was completely terrified. Not by the fish but by the entire situation. The girl by the desk knew him and that only implied that something bigger was going on. And it was further proof that his memory was erased.

They took another right into a dark room behind renovation tapes. The lights were off and Tobey searched hectically for the switch. He found it after a few seconds.

"Oh my..." he whispered unable to find the right words for what he was seeing. He was shocked, terrified but his lips were curved into a slight smile. Adrenaline was rushing through his veins. This was that Torchwood was dealing with every day. Everything clicked now. The bizarre information he sometimes found about them which he thought were just a joke. His imagination was completely absorbed into connecting all the pieces of the puzzle called Torchwood he was trying to solve. The part of him that was still conscious looked at Andy.

The PC was shocked. But Tobey was well aware that it wasn't the creature, the alien behind the glass he was reacting to. Andy remembered everything. Just by looking at his eyes he could easily deduce that. He looked so sad he looked as if he was about to burst into tears any second. Tobey knew just what exactly did he feel. Betrayal. Did this always happen when somebody remembered what they forgot?

The creature behind the glass, although it could maybe somehow resemble a creature from Earth, was clearly of extra-terrestrial origins. It's upper body somehow resembled a human. It's face was clearly surprised.

"Hi Murro," Andy said bitterly.

"Good day," the alien uttered regaining his cool. There was a slight change in the air now. "Did something happen?"

"No, I just happened to be in the neighborhood," Andy lied reassuringly. "I decided to check up on you, see if everything is fine. I'm gonna go now."

The alien didn't answer. But when Andy was turning to leave he stopped him. "Who's your friend?" Murro asked.

"I'm Tobey Magpie," the programmer said more than eagerly. Andy didn't even have a chance to open his mouth. "It's a pleasure," he wanted to step forward and shake hands but because of the glass it was impossible. He waved instead.

Andy couldn't wait till the introductions finished. He could understand Gwen trying to hide this from him but to go to such lengths... He left the room almost silently. Tobey rushed after him. At first he didn't realize when his friend had disappeared from the room. He finally caught up with him near the exit.

"I think I'm going to walk home," he said after a few moments of silent following.

"If you could do that, thanks," Andy said.

Tobey opened his lips. He wanted to say he was sorry but he obviously wasn't. The only things he felt were excitement and lust for more information, more clues about Torchwood. He was fascinated now. He had never felt like this before. Only Torchwood seemed to evoke such fascination in him and make him go to such lengths to learn about it. And another reason why he didn't want to say he was sorry was because he knew he would drill into the subject even more from now on and if he didn't find anyone else to talk to about it, poor Andy would be feeling even worse than he did now.

They parted before the entrance. Tobey didn't hesitate before saying goodbye. He knew asking anything more was not an option.

Andy got into his car and the first thing he did was dial Gwen. He needed to meet her.

o*o*o

"Jack!" Aoife brought Jack back from his world in the clouds and to their main objective.

"What? You can't say he wasn't handsome!" he said, glancing one last time behind him at a man that was obviously taken by a girl, now holding his hand.

"He's not my type," the girl commented acting uninterested.

"What is your type then?" Jack asked more than curious. In fact he had never thought Aoife had a type.

"It's none of your business..." The girl looked at him piercingly.

Jack didn't answer but he certainly wasn't letting the subject go. They arrived at the National Bank and went inside through the sliding glass door. Jack noticed a few people looking at them. This wasn't really a surprise. It happened everywhere they went, whether they were recognized by people as Time Agents or not.

They didn't have weapons - yet. They looked at each other and both nodded. They had worked together a few times before and when it concerned work there was no need to use words to communicate.

They casually approached the two guards at the entrance and once they made sure they didn't look, Jack and the girl disarmed them and knocked them out in a blink of an eye. Aoife threw him the retrieved gun. Afterwards each of them continued with their part of the attack.

The girl first approached the security desk and closed the bank and the floor off. She then pressed a few buttons on the security computer and turned off the CCTV camera - probably a few moments too late but it was better than having enough footage to create a very clear picture of both of them. Afterwards she approached one of the workers' computers to hack into the bank's main server.

In the meantime Jack "took care" of the people inside the bank.

"Everybody down!" he shouted, gathering the people's attention. He displayed the guns and fired them to show it was loaded. Muffled screams echoed from every corner of the room. "If I could have everyone's cooperation, please? If you could all just stay down, don't move and let us do our jobs? Nobody will get hurt... right Aoife?" he asked his colleague who was struggling with the computer.

"We have a limit, yes," Aoife answered seemingly quietly but her voice was firm and easily heard.

"You see?" Jack continued. "The more damage done, the less salary we get," he explained casually. He sat on one of the desks and silently observed the people on the ground. A few of them were shaking, others were crying and a handful had in their eyes the desire to fight. He watched carefully not to let those with the will to fight notice each other.

Aoife continued to struggle with the computer. She kept glancing down at the young man who normally worked by the station who was now curled up under the desk. It wasn't helpful that he kept glaring at Aoife, her stolen gun and mostly: her mechanical arm.

Nobody in the Time Agency knew what exactly happen to her real arm but everyone knew what the new one could do. It was the first robot limb that was connected not only to the central nerve system but to the brain as well. A part of it served as a computer and that made Aoife the ultimate programmer and hacker. She didn't just read the codes. Once her arm was connected to the system it "felt" the information and could literary surf the computer, server or web. She still had to operate everything manually with her other hand but that wasn't a problem. The mechanical arm had another function - it stored memories and information and Aoife had never forgotten a single thing.

"What's taking you so long?" Jack asked but not for a second did he look in her direction. He couldn't. He was staring at the door, occasionally glancing at the people. The sound of sirens was getting closer. The police were coming.

"It's very stubborn, this one," an unfamiliar kindness appeared in Aoife's voice as she said that.

Jack rolled his eyes. "They're not even A.I.!" he commented. "Would you stop treating computers like living creatures?" He shivered at the thought. That was the most disturbing thing about working with Aoife. She would say the worst of things about a human being without any emotion in her eyes or wavering in her voice, but when it came to anything with circuits and codes instead of flesh and blood she sounded like a very nice nurse treating a child.

"I need to cross reference a few details to find the right deposit. They've got all of the information shattered across the server. Either a genius did this or a complete idiot."

"Great," Jack muttered seeing four police cars and two special force vans park outside the building.

A swarm of people soon surrounded the entrance and were pointing their guns at the bullet-proof glass of the door. Moments later the press arrived. In a matter of seconds the building's outsides were more crowded than in the biggest rush hours. Outside was noisy, but inside there was a tense silence. And in that silence a phone rang. Every face in the room except for Jack's and Aoife's turned to the source of the sound. The girl kept befriending the computer and Jack just smiled. He eventually approached the phone and answered.

"Hello," he said, his voice just a bit too cheeky and cheerful.

"You are surrounded," the voice in the speaker said. It was firm and met no denial. "It's best to just surrender before anyone gets hurt."

Jack laughed.

"Please, officer," he said. "Nobody will get hurt. That is, if you can just wait patiently until we finish off."

"So, are you saying you will start shooting the hostages unless we meet your demands?" the officer asked. Jack wasn't the sort of terrorist he dealt with normally.

"No, if you don't give us thirty minutes," he covered the speaker with his hand and turned to Aoife. "Thirty minutes is enough, right?" he got a nod in reply. He returned to his previous conversation. "If you don't give us thirty minutes I will start shooting," Jack said, confidence pouring out of him. He heard a few people start weeping even more. "I will be shooting your people, officer," he said.

"And how will you do that?" the person asked. "The glass is bulletproof. You will have to open the door."

Jack laughed. Lies easily slid down his tongue. "There's another person on one of the upper floors. Look up, officer. Some of the windows are still blinded, aren't they? One of the employees works for us. And tell your special forceS teams on the roof and in the back that they won't get in those ways."

Jack smiled. The silence on the other side made him certain that they believed him. He hung up, the smile never leaving his lips. "Aoife?" he asked.

The girl didn't answer. Instead she stood up and looked at Jack. It was enough an answer.

"I'll be back in ten minutes," she said.

"Take this," Jack threw her a device clearly resembling a gun except it looked like a science-fiction prop.

Aoife said nothing. She caught the weapon without any problems.

Now then, let's take care of the rest," Jack said seeing that his colleague disappeared behind the metal doors leading to the stair case.

o*o*o

Aoife went down the stairs to the cellar. Theoretically the only way to get to the volt was by the elevator but by unlocking it she would give other people in the building an opportunity to use it. Instead, she could just get through the basement making a hole in the wall.

She found just the right spot. The blueprints were inside her head and she knew where to look. It was behind one of the shelves in the archive. She already opened all the locks she needed from the main server and getting inside the room wasn't a problem.

The archive was right on the left after she had left the stair case. She found the shelve with the numbers from "099637" to "099701" and stood in front of it. The gun Jack gave her was a vital point. She aimed and shot. The wall before her dematerialized and she went through the hole. She turned around and with another shot the wall looked just the same as it did before.

The volt wasn't as large as she thought it would be; the slots as well. She searched for number "32" and she found it unexpectedly quickly. With the gun she made a smaller hole - just slightly bigger than her fist. But she didn't reach inside.

"Fluffy," she said quietly. Her voice was soft as if she were a mother talking to a child. "Fluffy!" she repeated a bit louder.

There was a creaking sound coming from inside. Moments later a small metal ball flew out. A small green light flickered with what could almost be interpreted as joy. Aoife brushed it slightly and it gave out soothing creaking sounds again.

"Come on," she said gently. She once again shot at the hole she just made and the metal returned to its rightful place. After repeating the process again with the wall she returned to the archives.

Aoife was now running. There was no telling what Jack could do when left alone. She burst out of the staircase and saw Jack preparing their escape. Thankfully, nothing went wrong.

Or so she thought at first. Jack was staring at a woman standing outside the building. Aoife followed his gaze. She gulped seeing what the look on the woman's face. She clearly knew Jack. How was that even possible? Aoife turned her gaze back to her partner. Jack seemed to show no recognition but he was clearly intrigued by the woman knowing him.

Aoife took a deep breath anxious that he wasn't focused enough. She almost called out his name but there was no need to do it in the end. Thankfully he turned around for a moment and looked at her.

Then, it all went off.

* * *

><p>Jack is back! Part 2 will be up this weekend. Just want to take a part of space here to thank Ash-Varnei for beta-reading.<p> 


	5. Episode 2: Part 2

Part 2 is up. Enjoy :-)

* * *

><p>Gwen was exceeding the speed limit by at least fifty percent. She had driven past at least three red lights since leaving home. For some reason it was really quiet despite the constant monotone messages from the GPS navigator. It's soothing voice - although repeating alerting messages - made Gwen relax a bit, although not enough to make her slow down.<p>

"Jack wouldn't do something like that," she said out loud. It was only then that she realized she was alone. There was nobody on the passenger seat to confirm her words. She had forced Ianto to stay at home and had literally had to use force in order to close the door right in front of his nose. Somebody had to take care of the baby and if the person robbing the bank was in fact Jack then that would be the worst reunion possible - Ianto didn't remember anything about his ex-boyfriend who had now slipped onto the criminal path and Jack... well... he seemed to be completely unpredictable.

The ringing phone felt very reassuring, for once. For the first time she felt happy about her choice of ring tone. That changed when she saw the caller's name on her mobile phone. It was Andy. She really didn't want to talk to him right now.

"Andy?" Gwen answered.

"Hi Gwen," Andy's voice was a bit uncertain. Gwen waited for him to continue. "Can you meet me... like... now?"

"I'm afraid I can't Andy," Gwen was aware that a little bit of her irritation was slipping into her voice.

"It's important!" Andy continued.

"How important, Andy?" Gwen took a rapid turn right, saving herself and her car from a head on crash only thanks to the driving experience she had gained in Torchwood.

"It's important Gwen," Andy said firmly.

Gwen weighed her choices. A grimace appeared on her face.

"I'm by the National Bank," Gwen said hanging up. She knew Andy well enough to tell that when he spoke like that he was serious. Serious and angry.

She was just meters away from the bank and the street was jammed with cars blocked by two black vans and a row of uniform cars. She cursed and turned left to park just half a meter further. Her Honda was now an addition to the blocking uniform cars. She burst out of the car and the continuous horning became significantly louder. She bore it and jogged towards the barrier.

"This area is off limits," the officer said from behind the white and red tape.

"I'm with Torchwood,"Gwen said confidently. One of the many things she had learnt in Torchwood was that if you showed no hesitation you could even show your driving license to these people and it wouldn't be a problem. And that was exactly what she did.

The guard flinched but said nothing and lifted the tape for her. Gwen approached the person who looked most likely to be in charge. He was a middle aged man with a few grey hairs.

"Can you fill me in on what is happening, officer?" she asked confidently. It wasn't as easy with him as it was with the lower ranking policeman.

"And you are...?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Gwen Cooper, I'm with Torchwood," she introduced herself.

The man looked at her skeptically. She didn't even flinch and so survived the officer's deadly glare. The officer hesitated. He knew that asking what exactly Torchwood was doing here was futile. "The man is armed. He has taken the whole ground floor hostage. We know he has at least two accomplices. One of them is on one of the upper floors."

"And how do you know that?" Gwen interrupted, unsure whether, if the person inside the bank even was Jack, accomplices were even an option.

The man hesitated again. He quickly regained his cool knowing this wasn't the right place to show his indecisiveness. Especially in front of Torchwood representative. "Our team is trying to get inside," he showed five special force members in front of the glass door.

Two of them were working, trying to break through the lock down and the remaining three were covering them with guns raised and pointing at the only standing man inside the building. The people inside were crawled up in every free corner that they felt would slip Jack's attention. They hid under the desks or behind columns, everywhere they could to avoid being noticed. It was amazing that he was only one and he still managed to keep things under control.

Gwen came closer to the door and so did the culprit. He had obviously noticed Gwen – members of Torchwood stood out between normal uniforms – but the things he was doing at that moment seemed more important to him.

Standing a few meters behind the special forces troops Gwen took a good look at the person she thought was Jack.

He took a few steps back and seemed to have spoken something to the people. They all crouched even further inside the building. Then he turned around and looked at Gwen. His eyes pierced through her. She was now certain. She knew that face perfectly well, she could close her eyes and remember every single detail of her superior's features, but those blueeyes didn't belong to the Jack she knew. There was no recognition inside them. Not even a spark. His face looked younger and his hairdo was different; there was no doubt about it: the person Gwen was looking at was Jack, Jack from the past. And that just made her more aware of just how little she or anyone knew about Captain Jack Harkness.

Jack turned his head and Gwen followed his gaze. They both saw a girl coming. Gwen had never seen her face before. The girl had a very young and pretty face but that was spoilt by the forced maturity masking it.

Jack looked back and his eyes were again fixed at Gwen. He smiled confidently. His lips formed silent words. Gwen couldn't read them but she didn't have to. Instinctively, she knew what he was saying. Her eyes widened in fear. She watched as Jack raised his gun. She than glanced at the working special forces members.

"GET DOWN!" she shouted but it was already too late.

Jack fired. The bullet hit the bomb attached to the glass door. The glass shattered. It was bullet proof but it was definitely not bomb-proof. But that wasn't the end. As the pieces flew scraping the people working on getting in, Jack fired five bullets; each of them hit one of the special forces members. Gwen swallowed. They were executioner shots. Jack had always been a perfect shot.

She was even more afraid of Jack now. Of the parts of Jack she knew nothing about. She was so struck by it she didn't move and just watched as Jack and the girl escaped to the back of the building. The rest of the team rushed after them and a few stayed to take care of the hostages.

But it was a lost case for the police. Knowing Jack he would be gone before they even got close. Gwen waited around for the police work to be done. She didn't want to get involved but she knew she would have to.

In the aftermath, it turned out that only one object had been stolen. The surprising thing was the lack no signs of breaking in the volts. There were no deaths amongst the hostages. Only the five special forces members had been killed.

And just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, Andy appeared. He was walking unnoticed besides the working policemen, doing a great job blending in. He raised his hands and looked at Gwen questioning.

"What the hell happened here?" he asked. "Are we still in Cardiff?"

"Long story, Andy," Gwen said. "Can we please put this off?"

"No, Gwen!" Andy raised his voice. Gwen moaned a quiet "you know..." and tried to explain herself but Andy cut in. "I just want to say one thing: if you don't want me to get involved with Torchwood and all that alien bollocks - just say it! I won't bother you about it but I don't want you going to such drastic measures as erasing my memory!" he whispered the last words quietly. "I'm on your side Gwen!"

Gwen took a deep breath. She had no idea how she was even staying calm at the moment. She could feel that she was moments away from crying.

"Andy, listen to me," she said quietly. "I really can't talk about all this right now, so please, lets just continue this some other time." Her breathing was irregular. She felt she was loosing not just one friend right now, but three: Andy obviously knew she had erased his memory and his trust in her was fading; Ianto didn't know her at all anymore and the only thing keeping them together was the fact that she was the only key to his memories he had; and lastly Jack, whom she just realized she knew even less than she thought she did.

Andy opened his lips to say something but the strain he saw on Gwen's face silenced him. And then, just a fraction of a second later she embraced him in the final act of desperation. Andy was shocked. He froze and just stayed still as Gwen hid her face and sniffed a few times trying her best not to cry. He put his hands gently on her back feeling very awkward about the situation.

"I'm sorry," Gwen pulled away. She wiped the tears she had somehow managed to keep in her eyes.

"Tell me if I can do anything," Andy said. "I'm here if you need help."

"I'll see you later," Gwen smiled and left him.

o*o*o

Gary Newcastle was the only person in the building who hadn't the slightest idea that the bank was under attack. When Jack and Aoife closed down the building he was riding the elevator to the eleventh floor where he had spent at least three whole years of his life. Accounts was not what he wanted to do for the rest of his life but it certainly brought money into his pockets. And in this world that was all that mattered.

The elevator stopped when he was in the middle of thinking about his future holiday trip to Italy. He had planned it for late spring before the season starts. He would see Rome and then maybe travel north. He wanted to see both the Vatican and the Colosseum but also didn't want to miss Venice.

First, he heard a sound that made him nervous. A low thump from somewhere above the elevator. Then the elevator stopped and he had to hold the rail to prevent falling. At first he wasn't especially nervous. Annoyed, maybe, but there was no need to panic. He would just call up to security or maintenance and ask them what was going on. They would probably clear everything up quickly.

The lights went off at the exact moment he pushed the button. _Now_ he was panicking. He had never had claustrophobia but in the dark, silent elevator he felt like the walls were really closing in on him. For a few moments he was holding the rail and not letting go, afraid that he might slip as the elevator changed its center of gravity, or it might catch fire or, what he thought was the most probable at the moment, the elevator would be detached and he would fall with it when the lines that were holding it broke.

None of that happen for the first minute. And because the first minute felt like a whole lifetime he decided it was either not dangerous or that what was happened was even more dangerous than anything he had imagined.

Gary never had the habit of talking to himself but he started doing it now. He kept saying everything was going to be OK, even though he was the only person in the elevator and he himself didn't believe that.

The ringing phone startled him. The screen showed the name "Megan". He answered it and tried his best to remain calm when saying "hello". It worked better than he thought it would. _Maybe he should have became an actor?,_ the thought passed his mind just for a few seconds.

"Oh, thank God you're alive," his wife said just before the connection broke. Three beeps preceded his mobile's shut down. The battery was dead.

The relief he had heard in his lover's voice, however true and deep, didn't bring any relief to him. In fact it just made him even more anxious about what was happening. What could have been happening that was so bad that his wife would hear about it? He had never heard of elevators stopping, it was too trivial for a news report. He considered the possibilities. Maybe he had been stuck in the elevator for a few days already and nobody could get him out. That would make his girlfriend worried, and call the attention of reporters. On the other hand, he heard no news from anybody since the blackout, and there were obviously no attempts at saving him.

Gary tried to call for help but there was no reply. After all, who'd hear him shouting from the empty space between the fifth and the sixth floor?

The lights flickered a few times but the control panel was still unavailable. Gary gradually lost both his confidence and the leftovers of his cool. He felt like he was suffocating although he had plenty of air.

He was crouching on the floor when the elevator finally moved. It was at least half an hour since it had stopped and Gary had already started imagining what his funeral would look like. He had wondered if anyone really missed him and realized there was little that would make him special to anybody.

The door opened revealing two police officers, surprised by their found. They hadn't even a moment to think over what they were going to say because Gary burst out of the elevator and into one of the officer's arms.

"Oh, thank God!" he said, and his relief had never been more genuine than now. "I thought I was going to die, I didn't know what was going on, the elevator stopped working all of a sudden."

"Calm down, sir," the one with free hands said, putting an end to Gary's laments. "The situation is now under control and you are in no danger. You can go back home if you like."

Gary looked at them and blinked a few times. Something had happened whilst he had been stuck in the elevator. It wasn't just that they had heard his calls for help or knew about his futile pressing of the help button in the elevator.

Another policeman ran up to them his eyes wide in shock.

"The wall..." he huffed trying to catch his breath. "It just disappeared!" he said. "They shot at the wall and then it disappeared and after they left it came back again." The policeman sounded like he himself didn't believe his own words and he was gesticulating madly trying to explain what he saw. "How is that even possible?" he concluded.

Gary regained his calm just a little bit and looked around. The bank looked like a battlefield. Shreds of glass were lying everywhere, people were still crying and hiding under every desk, in every place it was possible. Most of them were already being attended to by the policemen, but some were still in too much shock to feel safe enough to go outside. In front of the doors there were five special forces members being packed in bags and taken away. Dead.

He saw the children, the mothers, the women, the workers and even the grown men, all too frightened to do anything.

"And it was just two people." he heard one of the policemen say.

The gravity of the situation struck Gary. He fell to his knees unable to utter one single word. Two people and this much destruction and fear? If two were all it took than how safe the world really was? The police, even SWAT seemed to have been defeated so easily. And there he was. A small, small person holding no value to anyone. He felt so insignificant compared to all that was happening.

There he was. Kneeling between the scattered glass, knees bleeding. He, Gary Newcastle, saved by the miracle of an elevator malfunction.

o*o*o

Jack and Aoife ran as fast as they could until they reached a fairly crowded street. Now it was all about blending in. And with a metal ball called Fluffy levitating above her shoulder it was hard for Aoife. People looked at them awkwardly but suspected absolutely nothing. They probably thought things like: "a movie is being shot", "geeks" or in the case of some children: "I want that toy, mama!". Jack shared these thoughts with Aoife.

"That's what I love about humans," he concluded, feeling very good about himself. "But you really should hide him," he added.

The pet gave out a series of cracks that were supposed to convey dissatisfaction. It's light glimmered and faded away for a second.

Aoife didn't answer but she did put out her hand for Fluffy to land there. The robot obeyed her without any opposition.

Jack smirked at its immediate reaction. He was wondering why Aoife was so eager to rescue the little AI. She always did what she was told but she seemed to be more attached to this mission than to any other he had been on with her. And the fact that Fluffy knew her this well and listened to her revealed the truth. It was pretty obvious now.

"You fancy him, don't you," he said, as always satisfied after uncovering another secret from somebody.

The blush gave it all away. It was a shock for Jack. Although he had worked with Aoife for so long he had never ever seen her face become red from embarrassment. Nor from anything else. He had never thought she would be so sensitive about her love life.

Aoife hid Fluffy in her pocket and tried to act calm and pretend that her face wasn't giving away her feelings. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said and immediately regretted it. How could she say such a cheap and halfhearted line?

"I was right, wasn't I?" Jack smiled. "You and Nathan, who would've thought!" Jack whistled.

"You're going to do the second mission alone," Aoife unnaturally returned to the subject she was most comfortable in: work. "I need to go back."

"But you said that the vortex manipulators need charging!" Jack protested. "We're both stuck here for another week, aren't we?"

"You are," Aoife corrected. "I managed to connect it to the power source while I was breaking into the bank computer. It wasn't much but it's enough for one trip back."

"What about me?" Jack was outraged. "Can't you do the same for me?"

"You have to finish the mission. I have to get back. Orders. You will be sent more details later today."

She pressed a few buttons on her arm and Jack watched her disappear in the middle of the street. She glanced at him one last time and he saw her lips curved in a sad, sad smile. Jack never saw that expression on her face. It was usually emotionless or angry. Now during the last few minutes he saw her both embarrassed and sad. There was clearly something going on.

"Hey, what is-" he didn't finish. Aoife disappeared in the middle of a crowded street leaving Jack all alone.

He could feel his heart beating slightly faster and maybe even aching a bit. He couldn't figure out that sad look on Aoife's face. And he usually could deduct what other people were thinking just by looking at them.

"What did she mean?" he asked unconscious he was speaking out loud.

o*o*o

Gwen wasn't at all happy to see Ianto dressed in a suit when she came back home. It meant only one thing. He was going out. On the one the hand it was better for her as she didn't have to explain to him who the person on the TV was but on the other hand he would be searching for his past. And with Jack in town there was no telling what he could find. He had told her several times that he had gone job hunting and she knew that in part it was true. But she was afraid that a lot of that "job hunting" involved hunting for information about his _former_ occupation. But she had no way of stopping him.

"Alex is in his room, and he will probably be hungry any time soon," Ianto said without any greeting. He was in a hurry and a conversation with Gwen would most likely involve her asking about how his job searching goes. The few available positions he did find would scarcely make up for a conversation. He didn't want to lie so most of the time he just said nothing. He also knew that by staying he would only fight with his urge to ask Gwen about the man from the TV. And there was not a chance in the world that she would explain anything to him. "So, I'm off," he said and passed her by the door.

Ianto knew he was acting very rude but he couldn't just let go of his past. There was something driving him towards finding out the truth. He was sure of one thing about his past: something very important had happened. Something he would never have wanted to forget but he did. And his old self would do anything to remember it.

Gwen tried calling out to Ianto but her voice was stuck in her throat. And she had her baby to attend to. She couldn't curse the world more for all these events taking place at the same time and just when her life had finally become right too. She was only trying to enjoy a normal life with a normal husband and a normal son. For once she wanted to be normally happy, like people her age were, but Torchwood's grip was stronger than she had expected it to be. First it was the alien. Then Ianto came back. And now the Jack from his own past was invading Cardiff! But there was also one more problem present from the very beginning: her own unconscious striving towards life in Torchwood.

Gwen knew that Jack could put on a villain's mask to do the right thing but now he wasn't just acting. He was the villain. And she had absolutely no idea what she should do in a situation like this. It felt like she was the only one bearing the burden of keeping everything right. But was what she was doing really right? She had doubted herself so many times that guilt was making it almost impossible for her to lead a normal life. When she had worked in Torchwood Jack had always been there to correct her mistakes and give her advice her on what to do. And now instead of the problem-solver, Jack was the problem itself.

She came into Alex's room and saw the impersonation of all that was important to her. She knew she would turn the world upside down just to make him happy and safe. She smiled at the anchor of her normality. He and Rhys were so important.

She came up close to Alex. He was already awake but wasn't crying. Instead he was smiling at her so innocently. She couldn't help but smile back.

"We're going out, love," she said finally. "Let's find uncle Ianto."

o*o*o

Jack stared at John intensely. He tried to see that glimmer in the eye, that raising of the corner of his lip, anything that would convince him that John was lying. He found nothing. Not even a small clue that would give him doubts about the truthfulness of what John had said.

"Gwen's baby is not human?" he repeated just to ensure himself he had heard correctly. It wasn't that impossible, he thought. After all they were dealing with all kinds of extra-terrestrial beings and her work in Torchwood affecting her pregnancy was quite probable.

"Well, not entirely..." John corrected. "He's called Alexander," he teased knowing perfectly that Jack wouldn't be happy about John being better informed than himself.

"Fine," Jack said. "Take me to the Hub," he said.

John smirked and let out a quiet murmur of content. He smiled broadly, content that all his plans were coming together so well. But Jack wasn't looking at him at that moment. For those few seconds he had his eyes closed pondering about all the problems he was unwillingly facing.

o*o*o

John looked around the almost empty Hub in amazement. "A make-over, huh?" he commented.

"So what exactly is wrong with Gwen's baby?" Jack asked, crossing his arms and leaning against the table, half sitting on it. He knew that John wouldn't tell him anything unless he listened to what he wanted to say first.

"Absolutely nothing," John said calmly.

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Nothing?"

"Yes, it's absolutely fine," John was overly casual when saying tat.

"Then why did you bring me here?" Jack asked both confused and wary. Again he couldn't spot any lies on John's face.

"See, that's exactly what went wrong between us - you never listen to me!" John said casually, "I said it already, I want to join Torchwood." This time it was there. That flicker across the eyes that only Jack could notice. John was lying.

"As if..." He wasn't going to act convinced. If there was one thing he knew it was that whatever John was hiding was either dangerous or embarrassing. And there was never any way to tell which one it was.

John kept silent, looking Jack straight in the eyes. But that trick wouldn't work on him. John had always looked into somebody's eyes when he tried to convince them. But Jack knew each and every one of his tricks, which was one of the reasons why he could control him. But there always seemed to be that one thing which he couldn't figure out about John.

Irritation curved John's face. Jack sighed with relief. That look made it certain that John had in his mind only Jack's return.

"What is it then?" he asked. "Why would you do all that?"

What John said was the last thing Jack would expect from an egoist like him.

"You looked pathetic Jack," he said. "Sitting at that bar, passive and lifeless - you looked really, really pathetic, Jack."

Jack shifted. He followed John's face carefully, but he found no con.

"Do you really think you can isolate yourself like that?" John continued. There was anger in his voice which Jack absolutely didn't expect. "Running away like that won't help you at all!'

Jack gritted his teeth. For a moment they stayed silent. Jack fought with his anger. He didn't mind John messing with his life. He had gotten more than used to it during the years he spent with him. It was the fact that John knew all that had happened to him angered him the most.

"What else do you propose then?" Jack burst out. "Everyone seems to know better than me what I should do or feel! Try living in my shoes for a change! Maybe then you would understand me even a little!"

"Oh, like you're so special, Jack! You think you can talk just because you can't die! That's you're so different! Well you're not! You're not the only one who suffers, Jack!" John opposed. "You think you're saving the world, when in fact you are an egocentric! You think you can repay everyone the wrongs you did, that you can somehow erase your past. If you think that way then the balance will never be zero."

"Like you can talk," Jack smirked, not one bit amused. "You said it yourself: rehab didn't help you."

"Oh don't bring my rehabs into this!" John said.

"Why shouldn't I? You don't even care whether you kill somebody or not! Your morals are twisted!"

"Jack," John's words were almost a whisper. He wanted to retaliate but he couldn't find the words. He wanted to say that Jack was wrong but there was a seed of truth that he couldn't deny in his words. He took a few shallow breaths but it didn't help him turn his thoughts into words. "I really do love you," he said, giving up on trying to talk him into righteousness. After all he really wasn't the one who should be teaching philosophy and ethics.

"Last time you said that, you shot me with a machine guns," Jack said. "And electrocuted me, and then buried me alive. What makes you think I'll believe you now?"

He couldn't help a tiny smirk appearing on his face.

"Oh, like we hadn't had fights before," John said. He knew there was no chance of persuading Jack from his thoughts. There was an awkward silence after he said that but the tension and anger was gone.

"I'm going to see Gwen," Jack said, although he thought it better to keep low for now. But as much as he wanted to believe John lied he couldn't be sure. There was rarely any logic where John was concerned.

"Jack," the former Time Agent stopped him for just one more second. Jack turned around, his face still irritated but also showing a lot of worry. Should he tell him? He thought better of it. "No, it's nothing."

John looked after Jack as he left the Hub through the huge cog wheel(cog wheel) entrance. He smiled. He knew that his methods may not have been the best but his objective was really pure.

"Can't you see Jack... I'm trying to save you!" he whispered quietly.

The light flickered. He checked his vortex manipulator once more. "Oh, shit..." he whispered seeing that it was a week later than he had planned they would travel to.

o*o*o

Ianto stood in front of the big statue with water flowing from the top, placed in front of the millennium center. He spent a lot of time just looking at the water thinking and trying to remember. It never worked. He usually walked around the bay staying close to the tourist information center.

Jack couldn't believe his eyes when he saw his dead lover looking upon the statue. He stood shocked on the steps for a few moments making sure his eyes hadn't mistaken him. But they didn't. The person presented Ianto's everything. He even wore his suit the same way. And more importantly: he looked great in that suit .

He run towards him and called out his name. Ianto turned around and looked at him. Jack almost stopped. The reaction he expected was different.

Ianto's face looked confused. He seemed to be both happy and angry at the same time. But the thing that struck Jack the most was the way he looked at him. He didn't recognize him at all. There wasn't even a sparkle of that emotion he saw in Ianto's eyes whenever they met. Nothing. Ianto Jones didn't know him at all.

"Ianto?" Jack asked with some doubt in his voice.

Ianto smiled politely, the way he did when Jack still hadn't let him into Torchwood. "I reckon you must be-"

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack said putting on one of his flirtatious smiles. After living for over two thousand years and travelling the universe for a good proportion of his life it wasn't really hard to figure out more or less what had happened.

"Ianto Jones, nice to meet you, sir," Ianto said, reaching his hand out towards Jack.

Jack shook it hesitantly. He held it for just a few seconds too long. But how could he let go? He was so happy and at the same time so sad. He felt like there was no justice in the world. He promised Ianto he would remember him and now it was his lover who had came back to life and forgotten him.

He embraced Ianto tightly before the man could even react. He stood like that for a few seconds unable to release his lover. And the thing that hurt him the most was that Ianto didn't do anything. He let himself be hugged but couldn't bring himself to hug Jack back.

Jack looked up from above Ianto's shoulder and saw Gwen running up towards them. He felt relieved seeing that she was still the same person he knew without any loops in memory. He turned his attention back to Ianto. He held his head gently and placed his lips upon his forehead. Ianto blushed but seeing how Gwen was already next to them and she didn't react to it at all he decided to just ignore it to as big an extent he could.

But it was not the sudden hug or kiss that surprised him most. One moment he was in an impossible situation meeting a stranger who knew him, the next he was in an even more impossible situation where Gwen was pointing a gun at Captain Jack Harkness.

"What did you come back for Jack?" she asked. "To complicate our lives even more? Or maybe to finally show your true colours?"

Jack looked at her blankly. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

Gwen let a sigh of relief. She knew it from the start but working with the police and Torchwood for so long she had to make sure if it was really him. The fact that he didn't even react to the gun and looked genuinely confused was enough for her.

"Thank God," she said lowering the gun. "I'm sorry Jack. I had to make sure it was really you."

Jack hugged Gwen with a broad smile on his face.

"It's so nice to see you Jack," Gwen said after a short moment when Jack had released her. "You've got so much explaining to do," she added more seriously. But she just couldn't be angry with Jack, not after he had come back, not even if he had told her that he was the worst of people before joining Torchwood. She smiled, relieved. She was finally free of some of the burden of keeping everything in place and Torchwood sealed away. Now Jack could take care of everything, and everything would end peacefully.

"Well I think I'm not the one who should do the explaining," Jack said glancing at Ianto and then at her gun. "What exactly happened?"

Gwen sighed. She really thought that if Jack would come back their reunion would be different. Firstly, she would want to have a chance to talk to Jack and explain the situation before he met Ianto.

"Let's discuss this over a cup of coffee, shall we?" she said. "And I'll just take Alex from the car. Alex is my treasure," she added, her motherly instincts kicking in again. "He's the most beautiful baby you've ever seen," she said proudly.

After the five minutes alone with Jack that had been the most awkward five minutes in Ianto's life, the three and a half of them were sitting at "The Poppy" with a cup of coffee in their hands.

"So let me get this straight, you don't know what happened?" Jack asked. "You don't remember a single thing?"

"Well I know everything I learnt in... Torchwood, but I can't recall absolutely anything about you, anyone in Torchwood, about Torchwood as well and I have no idea what happened in the past five years except for the things I have learnt now," Ianto explained. "It's as if I went to school and afterwards forgot everything about my mates and teachers but remembered the material. Something like that at least. The memories are only triggered after I see or hear something not by themselves. And not all of them as well."

Jack glanced at Gwen. "And she told you... what exactly?" he asked carefully.

"Not much. I just know the basics," he lowered his voice, "that we worked with aliens and that we were all close. Like a family." His expression saddened again.

Jack laughed but nobody reacted. He inhaled feeling awkward in the sudden silence. A thought crossed his mind and he frowned. "A family?" he said more to himself than to Gwen and Ianto. "That... would make me the father and Ianto would be..."

"Jack drop it!" Gwen said, seeing a suggestive smile appearing on his face.

"What? I'm just saying!" Jack took on an innocent look. "That's a very good analogy by the way," he added not able to drop the subject so quickly.

"I didn't mean it in terms of relationships but more of a family feeling and ... closeness," Gwen explained herself. _Well it was only a feeling anyway, _she added in her mind remembering this afternoon, _ after all we knew nothing about each other_...

"Closeness..." Jack repeated, trying hard to hide his amusement.

"Jack!"

"... Re-relationships?" Ianto's whisper brought the fighting two's attention back to him.

"Oh don't worry your head over this, Ianto," Gwen said. "It's just the way he is. He even tried kissing me on my wedding day," she added with a smirk.

"Excuse me!" Jack was outraged by the wrong accusation. "That was not me. It was the alien. He was just looking like me. I would never have done something like that."

"Actually I find that more improbable than all those aliens and weevils and stuff," Gwen said. "I bet you did make a few ladies stray from the right path before their wedding days."

Jack grinned, "I don't think I can deny that. I once made both the bride _and_ the groom deny their true and everlasting love for each other. But that's a different story. They weren't really made for each other."

Ianto smiled. It was impossible not to feel comfortable around Jack even if he didn't know what the conversation was about. Even if he felt sad about forgetting everything he was a step closer towards his past than just a few minutes before. And even if that meant being hugged and kissed by a guy he had never seen before he didn't mind. Well, he didn't mind the hugging part. He wasn't too keen on the kissing though. Especially by a total stranger.

"So what have you been up to Jack?" Gwen asked harshly. She knew she wouldn't be able to squeeze anything out of Jack but she could still wish it were possible and try.

"Oh this and that," Jack said ignoring her tone. "And what about you... And Alex?" he ricochetted.

"I saw you robbing a bank just this afternoon Jack," Gwen said not letting him go.

Jack raised his eyebrow. "I just got here," he said.

"Right, he did look like you," Ianto noted, remembering the CCTV image from the news. There was no clear picture of Jack taken by the cameras but for somebody who knew him it wasn't hard to recognize him; even the slight change in appearance wasn't big enough to confuse Gwen or Ianto. "You were robbing a bank?" he added with disbelief in his voice.

"I already said I didn't!" Jack repeated himself.

"But it was you Jack," Gwen said. "I saw it with my own eyes: it was you from the past, I'm sure of it!"

"But I don't remember..." Jack looked up, his mind somewhere far away. "That's impossible! Out of all places, it had to be here!"

"What is it Jack?" Gwen asked.

Jack looked at her. "When I was with the Time Agency I had two years taken away from my life. This must be the me from that time, I don't see any other option," he said.

"What is the Time Agency?" Gwen asked, knowing that was the last bit of information she would squeeze from Jack now.

Of course, it didn't work.

Jack stood up. "Go home Gwen," he changed the subject. "I'm not going to make you do anything. Spend some time with Alex and decide if you want to come back to Torchwood or not. It's not a decision you can make on the spot."

"What about me?" Ianto asked.

"You come with me," Jack said.

Normally Gwen would protest but this time she couldn't. After all Jack was right. At this moment Alex was the most important thing for her. Him, not Torchwood. And if she would ever return to Torchwood, she knew that it would be for her son's safety and not for herself.

"Well, good luck," she said with a hint of nostalgia in her voice. She once again stopped the two before they got off their seats. "And one more thing Jack, I think you should know. We're holding an alien Ianto calls a Wart in the city aquarium."

Jack smiled. "I see you weren't messing around while I was gone," he said.

"And Andy got involved again," Gwen added.

"Did you deal with it?" Jack asked casually.

"I did but something triggered the memories. I don't think we'll get him off our heads for some time..."

"Don't worry your head over it, I'll talk to him," Jack said, feeling that Gwen was already at her limits unable to cope with everything on her own. Being a team leader was so much more stressing than simply following orders or disobeying them.

Ianto couldn't wait until they were alone. "What did you mean by "deal with it"?" he asked suspiciously once they passed the door.

"There's a drug called Retcon," Jack explained. "It makes people forget things. We use it on people who were not supposed to see... them."

Ianto's brow furrowed. This didn't sound right. But at the same time he couldn't help but feel relieved that Jack was actually explaining things to him.

"Who gives you the right to do that?" he asked.

Jack stopped. "Ianto, were you involved in that Wart case Gwen just told me about?" he asked.

Ianto nodded surprised by the sudden digression.

"Tell me all about it," Jack asked moving on.

Ianto followed quickly. "It started with several murders. Andy was assigned to the team that was working on the case and he asked Gwen for help. I was somehow caught in the cross-fire."

"OK," Jack interrupted him. "Returning to the beginning: it killed people, right?" he said. "People and families got hurt. The things we dealt with in Torchwood were dangerous. What do you think would happen if everybody just started getting involved? If everyone knew that there was a whole universe of creatures and wonders both good and bad and that there was a door, here in Cardiff that let all that _leak_ into this world. It wouldn't be only humans that got hurt."

Ianto didn't answer. Jack certainly did have a point in what he was saying.

"So... have I been... retconned?" he asked hesitantly.

"I don't think so," Jack said. "I think you would've already remembered everything by now if it were _just_ retcon."

Ianto noticed they were going away from the Hub. His gaze steered from the quay to Jack and back again a few times.

"Shouldn't we be going back to the Hub?" he asked.

"Gwen told you about the Hub?" Jack looked surprised. He could deduce that she didn't tell him much and probably didn't want to give him Retcon. She maybe wanted him to remember just as much as he wanted it himself. And they weren't the only ones. Jack also had his selfish wish of Ianto remembering everything.

"Well I sort of got there on my own. But it was the last thing she would tell me about Torchwood. I don't understand why she's keeping everything from me!"

"I reckon you had already found out that just a few months ago: Ianto Jones, you died," Jack said. "You died during one of our missions. Now think about it, Ianto Jones, think about what would you do in her place!"

Ianto was dumbstruck. He could understand what Jack was saying perfectly well but at the same time he wanted, no, he _needed_ to remember his past.

"Then what are you going to do now, sir?" he asked with his voice full of accusations.

Jack glanced at him and then looked around. His eyes laid on one of the ATM machines just a few meters away. "I'm continuing what Gwen started."

Ianto followed Jack as he approached the machine and placed a small device just by the screen. "And what is that?" he asked continuing the conversation.

At least twenty bills came out of the cash dispenser, all with the nomination of a hundred pounds. Jack took them without any scruples and casually gave them to Ianto. "I'm giving you a normal life," he said, with his other hand reaching for his little device.

"By stealing from an ATM machine?" Ianto's voice was full of doubts.

Jack smiled. "Exactly," he said. "This is 3 and a half thousand pounds. Rent yourself a nice cozy flat and start your life anew. Best if you move somewhere outside Cardiff but I can't make you do that. I can deal with the legal issues, passport, documents, those sort of things."

Ianto's face represented utter shock and disbelief. "You expect me to just take the money and go?"

"Yes," Jack's voice was unusually harsh.

"Well, I won't," Ianto opposed, his hand still stretched out and trying to give the money back. "I can't just act like nothing happened, can I?"

"You can, Ianto," Jack said, going down the street. "You can have a normal life, a normal girlfriend and live to meet your grandchildren or even great grandchildren!"

"What does that mean?" Ianto asked not sure whether Jack was making an allusion to something or not.

"Do you know what the difference between being retconned and what happened to you is?" Jack stopped and faced Ianto. The man shook his head. "When you are retconned the drug erases your memories and your brain fills the blanks with new memories so that the person never knows what happened to him. There's a chance that he will remember, and if there are certain stimulants he will remember, but that happens to a very small percentage of people. You can be either happy that you know you don't remember or depressed because you don't remember anything. Either way it's better than being retconned don't you think? So either you listen to me and forget you ever had contact with any of this or I'll drug you and leave you on the first train heading for Manchester. By the time you get there I'm sure you're brain will have created a decent explanation for your little trip. This life is dangerous, Ianto Jones! You of all people should know that. Especially after coming back alive like that!"

Ianto swallowed. He had never expected Jack to burst like that. His reassuring smile disappeared and left a grimace of anger and sadness on his face. But thankfully it changed back after a few moments.

And although everyone was telling him to do so, Ianto had no intention of just letting it go. He understood what Jack was trying to say but just couldn't abandon his past like that.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to just lose your memories like this?" he ricochetted. "I can't just choose to forget that I don't remember! It's even worse because I have these bits and pieces in my head that just don't make any sense!"

"Well I too have had my memories stolen and I ain't happy about it but I'm not pursuing them anymore, I came to terms with it," he said, realizing that he once again was sharing some of his secrets with Ianto. He wasn't completely honest about not pursuing his past but he didn't want Ianto to get any ideas.

They walked in silence. Ianto wasn't sure what other arguments he could use and Jack was unable to force himself to get Ianto to leave. Although he knew Ianto would be much safer away from the dangers that Torchwood brought them near to, he in fact wanted to work together with him. And the aquarium was still some time away. He couldn't use the SUV as it was hidden away in one of the garages. But he didn't mind the walking. He could at least enjoy Ianto's company for some time.

Ianto on the other hand was forming a new plan in his head. If persuasion didn't work then maybe if he just asked he had bigger chances of joining Torchwood and learning about his past. And he did feel bad about imposing on Jack like that. He could feel that it wasn't easy for him to just reject him like that.

They arrived at the aquarium. The parking was nearly empty. Jack stopped in the middle of it. The rain had started falling a few minutes earlier, and was now tapping on the rooftops of the cars. There was no delaying it.

"Ianto," Jack turned around. "You should go."

The words he used were simple, yet they conveyed so much. There was worry in his voice, worry and regret. But not only that. Jack had a brute realization that it was something that had to be done.

"I can do whatever you want," Ianto said.

"Ianto..." Jack couldn't say anything more.

"I can make coffee," Ianto was stammering and trying his best to smile as most naturally as he could.

Jack's eyes were fixed on Ianto, facing the accusation in his eyes. He faced it without turning his gaze, as he always did. Never making excuses, never failing to face his accusers, never running away from the pain.

Jack turned around and walked away. Ianto clenched his fists and looked at the grey military coat covering Jack's back. The distance between them, between Ianto and his past, grew but he didn't move an inch. But he didn't walk away either. He waited for Jack to disappear inside the building and slowly followed him towards the aquarium. He hid from the rain, under the roof and waited patiently for Jack to return. He was far too close. Far too close to give up now.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I love this bit. Ianto and Jack's reunion. I remember having this bit planned out before I even started writing the whole fanfiction. It was all for this moment. And for bringing Ianto back to life. More for the second bit actually but I loved writing the reunion as well...

Also, love having John in the story. You never know when he's serious and when he's not. And of course the famous rehabs :-D


	6. Episode 2: Part 3

Part 3 is up. Enjoy :-)

* * *

><p>Tobey stopped halfway before reaching his home. He turned around. His adrenaline levels were still high. He had just seen an alien. And was now just walking away? No way. He walked back towards the aquarium. He entered the building. The girl looked up but after raising one eyebrow confused by his sudden return thought it would be best to just ignore him and returned to her sudoku book. Tobey smiled and continued walking. He remembered perfectly well which path to take and quickly found the room sealed of for renovation.<p>

He turned on the switch on the wall and the lights revealed an empty fish tank. His heart started beating faster. Where did it go? He looked around hectically. The alien was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, I haven't been expecting you," he heard a voice behind his back. He turned around swiftly.

There was a man standing in the corner of the room. He was wearing a black heavy coat and his hands were hidden in thin gloves. He had wellingtons on his feet and his hair looked a bit too greasy. Despite this unusual getup, his face looked very innocent. Large grey eyes and high cheekbones. His lips weren't smiling, but were slightly open in surprise.

"And you are?" Tobey asked trying to calm down his beating heart. He was trying his best not to panic. Somebody was here and that could mean he had seen the alien. And what trouble that would be. Of course he too had seen the alien and he wasn't in the least involved in the past incidents connected to it but he knew about Torchwood. Wasn't that enough?

"I am Murro Lebiexantrov," the man introduced himself. "We met before, Mister Magpie," he said seeing the confusion. on Tobey's face.

"You- You're the alien?" he asked with utter surprise. "But you were...?"

"I can change forms," Murro said, his voice unchangingly calm and relaxing. "And what brings you back here?"

"Never mind that, why are you out?" Tobey asked.

"I thought I'd take a stroll, that's all," Murro said remaining confident as always. He had frowned for a tiny moment aware that something was going wrong. But it wasn't long enough for Tobey to notice. "And you?"

"Me?" Tobey suddenly felt relaxed and trusting. He leaned against the glass aquarium and slid down. "You know what? Some time ago, I wouldn't have even dream that something like this would happen. Aliens and you and Torchwood. It all started with them, you see. With Torchwood. This girl, Toshiko Sato, pure computer genius she was. It was over two years ago, when I started working for the police. They hired me to update their system and the firewalls. And it turned out that these Torchwood people were hacking the database for months or even years by that time. I tried fighting with them but Miss Sato was on a completely different level than me. And I dare say I'm not a bad programmer myself. I think I might've fallen for her then. For her and for the life she was leading. With each new piece of information on Torchwood I found my infatuation with Miss Sato grow, I wanted to lead the same exciting life as she did. I don't even know when this obsession turned from Miss Sato to the whole of Torchwood. I guess sitting behind a desk is just not enough for me."

Tobey had no idea what made him tell this story to a person, let alone an alien, he had met only once before. But he did. He didn't leave out any details which surprised him even more. He blinked twice when he reached the end. But he didn't feel guilty or uneasy about speaking with the alien about it.

"What about you?" he asked.

"Oh, I was brought here, somehow, probably by that rift in time and space Mrs Cooper told me about," Murro repaid Tobey with the story of how he had gotten to Earth and what he had to do to survive. Tobey wasn't even moved by what he said about killing those innocent people. At least not in the way he should have been. A normal person would be horrified, would reject the idea of aliens but Tobey felt a little bit of pity for the alien. His mind didn't register the gravity of the situation or maybe it was the way Murro spoke about it that prevented him from calling the alien a murderer.

After some time, Tobey didn't even know how long, they were interrupted. The man who Tobey saw at the entrance to the room shocked him even more than seeing an alien.

"Oh... My... God..." he whispered. "You are... Jack Harkness!" he said barely uttering the words.

"_Captain_ Jack Harkness," Jack corrected him. "And you are?"

Tobey rose to his feet.

"I'm Tobey, Tobey Magpie," he introduced himself more than eagerly.

"It seems you already know my name Tobey Now tell me what are you doing?" Jack asked.

"Oh, you have no idea!" he said, his voice very excited. He didn't even notice the question posed. He went on with telling the Torchwood tale from his point of view. "I've been watching you guys ever since I started working for the police and you are amazing! I can even go as far as to say that there is no system you can't break. I work in IT, you see, and I've tried so many things to block you out but it proved impossible!" Tobey didn't notice his excitement made his entire speech mixed-up and consfusing.

Jack smiled. He had always enjoyed a bit of flattery. Even though he knew that Tobey was talking about his colleague it still felt really good.

But he had to cut it short sooner or later.

"Tobey," he said. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Right, but don't worry, I know all about it," Tobey continued his flow of words of which little were useful information for Jack. "I know about all this and," he lowered his voice, "Torchwood. It's such a pleasure to meet you, Mr Harkness."

"_Captain_," Jack corrected him once more. "Or just call me Jack. Just don't call me _Mister_; it makes me feel old. But now explain to me _why are you here_."

"Oh, right. I'm well aware of the true nature of Murro, over there," Tobey said, still unable to grasp everything that was happening to him that day. Meeting Andy was enough just get pulled into this amazing world he had always seen from behind his computer screen and had never the courage to pursue. Another thing he was amazed by was his own behaviour. He had never before acted on impulse like this. Not to mention talking so openly with people he didn't know and with those he admired. "But I can assure you, he's completely mild-mannered."

Jack looked at him not entirely convinced by his last statement.

"Right, and are you aware that his true nature is that he releases chemicals that are suppose to make you feel safe and trusting around him?" Jack asked. The surprised look on Tobey's face was enough of an answer. "Correct me if I'm wrong _Mister_ Murro. It's a defence mechanism. The body produces chemicals and your voice does the hypnotising. Am I right?"

The alien didn't answer. It just stood in his corner trying his best not to display its anger in front of the humans. Everything had been going so well until this man came.

"And I suspect that the fact that you are standing in front of the tank and not in it _doesn't_ mean you were trying to escape, right?" Jack said, his voice full of irony.

"I have figured that there was nobody who could help me here," Murro confessed. "I am just trying to go back to my own planet!" he defended himself.

"I know, and I hope that I will be able to help you. But right now I have to get you out of here. It's too dangerous for you to be here."

"So you can't help me?" Murro asked, his voice unusually cold. The alien obviously did not believe Jack.

"Not now, no," Jack was sincere in his answer. "But we will find a way. And we can help you then."

"And who is this _we_ that you speak of?" Murro asked still suspicious. Jack didn't sound like a civil servant in one bit.

Jack smiled. It had been a while since he had said _that_ word like this to someone who was still unaware of what exactly it meant.

"Torchwood."

It took a few more minutes to convince Murro to come with Jack but finally the vision of a more comfortable safe house was enough. Tobey on the other hand was a bigger problem. At first Jack wanted to just ask him a few things about the case and get him to leave but the programmer clung to him and just wouldn't leave them alone.

"Do you know where the back exit is?" Jack asked.

Tobey wasn't sure but said it was quite possible that it would be at the end of the corridor.

"Great, now go home, Tobey,"Jack said. "You shouldn't get involved."

Tobey didn't listen. "I can help you! I studied computer science, I know almost everything there is to know about computers! I worked with them all my life!"

Jack ignored him and rushed down the corridor with the alien. Just the thing he needed: another person obsessed with joining Torchwood.

Tobey kept following them.

"I know about Miss Sato," he said with great respect towards her hidden in his voice. "I know I can't match her but I am good with computers and I could really help!"

Jack said nothing.

"You could give me trial time! Two weeks, that's all I want!" Tobey continued more desperate than ever. "I helped your friend earlier, I helped Ianto Jones, I can be helpful!"

Jack clenched his fists and closed his eyes for a short while. He didn't let Tobey see it though. As if pointing Ianto towards Torchwood was really "helpful".

"Fine, come by the bay later," Jack said surprised by his own consent. "But unless you have a car I can use you can go for now, we'll meet up later."

Tobey couldn't utter a word. He was shocked. "Yes, right, thank you," he said and stayed behind looking at Jack, unable to compress his excitement and happiness. "Sorry I don't have a car!" he said and turned around ready to leave Jack.

"One more thing," the Captain stopped him. "You're attitude won't do. I don't want you to just match Toshiko's skills. If you can't surpass her then you're useless."

Jack continued walking staying just an inch behind the alien to make sure that it did nothing.

"Where are we going now?" Murro asked once Tobey was out of reach.

"To the Hub," Jack said. "Then we'll help you adapt and search for a way to get you back to your planet."

"Right," Murro wasn't really convinced.

"But if you kill anyone...," Jack threatened him quietly.

Murro glanced at him. The seriousness in his captor's voice was really frightening. Now Murro felt he _really_ did want to return to his planet as soon as possible.

o*o*o

Jack led Murro to the Hub. John was one step away from organising a party there. The music was turned up very loudly and there were a few bottles of wine already lying on the tables. He installed some of the computers from the basement but Jack couldn't be certain if the circuits weren't burnt from the spilt alcohol.

"I see you brought a guest!" John greeted him, shouting through the music. "I thought you were only staying for a short while. Just to check up on Gwen and everyone."

Jack had already turned the volume down.

"Well that's not gonna work is it?" Jack said. "I am stuck here, aren't I? My vortex manipulator isn't working."

"The thing is, Jack, there's been a little problem."

Jack raised his eyebrow.

"We're a bit too late and I'm afraid things might have gotten a bit more complicated," John said. "I messed a few things earlier and now I think we got here a week later than I thought we would."

"Well then, John, I think you are saying this a little to late. Things are already pretty complicated," Jack said. "This is Murro," he introduced the alien. "Take him downstairs. It's just temporary, don't worry," he added to the alien.

John wasn't exactly happy to be the one to do the dirty work but he obediently put Murro in the holding cell. He then came back to the main room and found that the music had been turned off. Jack was setting up the computers. The Captain turned around.

"Can you explain one thing to me, John," he said obviously angry. "What exactly did you mean when you said that you messed things up earlier? Do you know that I'm here?"

John looked at him not knowing what he meant.

"Well, obviously you are here, I don't see why you wouldn't be here since I brought you here myself," he said.

"I don't mean that," Jack said. "I saw Gwen today. And apparently she saw me robbing a bank earlier today."

"Well, aren't you quick, Jack," John said and whistled.

Jack smiled the way he used to when he was just about to announce something important to an unbeliever. "Except she said I was younger. Do you know anything about that?"

John turned his attention to Jack completely. He wasn't smiling and joking around anymore. If there was one thing they had learnt in the Time Agency is to not mess with time. Never do anything that could change the course of history and never meet yourself or mess with your own timeline or of the timeline of somebody you know.

"If I had known I would have never..." he started but Jack cut in.

"Well it seems that it's the me from the Time Agency and I don't have any memories of robbing a bank in Cardiff," he said.

"What do you mean?" John asked.

"Do you know why I left the Time Agency, John?" Jack continued.

John smiled awkwardly. "No... But what does that have to do with any of this?" he asked.

"I left because the Time Agency erased my memory, two years of my life gone in a blink of an eye. And seeing how I'm here I think that they might have had something to do with Ianto's memory being erased."

"Wait, Eye Candy's alive?" John interrupted but his acting ability wasn't good enough to cover up his abashment. That or he just didn't try hard enough. He was thankful that Jack was now sitting in front of a computer and searching the internet for news. But he was a little bit disappointed that Jack didn't see through his "act". Of course he knew Ianto Jones was still alive...

"Yes, although I don't know how or why or even if it is Ianto at all," Jack said. "For all I know it might as well be someone or something trying to infiltrate Torchwood. But something tells me that it is him. He looks like his own shadow and seems to have forgotten most of what happened in Torchwood although he says that he can remember the things that he had learnt."

"Right, I thought you said that Eye Candy was dead," John said He glanced around nervously wondering just how suspicious he looked. He hoped he had managed to hide some of that nervousness that was trying to creep into his voice.

"I don't know how it happened but he seems to be alive," Jack glanced over his shoulder at John. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about it, would you, John?" he asked.

John swallowed. He felt his face becoming hot. "No, of course not," he said but he already knew that he was done for it. Jack had already seen through his attempts.

"The biggest problem right now is the me from the past," Jack continued. "If the Time Agency is here then that can only mean that somebody is going to get hurt. Look!" he pointed at the screen.

It was an article about the bank robbery. It stated that only one thing was robbed and the owner refused to comment any further on the contents. The culprits were a pair of odd looking people. A girl with a robot arm and a man with no special features and an american accent.

"Hey, I'm not plain!" Jack said outraged at the description.

John laughed. "Well you certainly lose to a bionic arm, Jack," he said.

"Well at least I was paired up with Aoife and not somebody else," Jack commented. He resisted the urge to glance at John.

"Yeah, she could always cool you down... somehow..." John said. "And she hated you!" he laughed.

"None of the images are too accurate, that's a plus," Jack said looking at the picture. "Thankfully the press wasn't allowed too near. And the CCTV is how it is... They've got a testimony sketch," Jack scrolled down to see the whole image.

"You can rest assured, you look nothing like it," John said after seeing it.

Jack's vortex manipulator started beeping. They both jumped. Neither of them had expected that.

"Should I answer it?" Jack asked.

"It must be for the past you. It's the same machine," John noted.

They didn't have to debate any more. The communicator turned on without any of them doing a thing.

"Now that's something new," John said but was immediately shushed by Jack.

"It's Aoife."

The holographic image of the girl wasn't too good but the bionic arm was something no one could mistake.

"I have just been informed there will be a change to your mission," she said. "There is a person living on Varguard Way. He is an alien that has escaped from planet 61. And it seems that he's not the only person living there who is not supposed to be here. There's a human associated with them. She comes by every week on a Friday and visits them. You are to make sure that she is there tomorrow and once she is inside blow the whole complex up. Use the M3."

The connection was lost.

"We're in trouble," Jack said.

John looked at him surprised. "Don't tell me..."

"That's the Torchwood safe house. And she was talking about Gwen."

"Why would anybody want to kill Gwen?" John asked.

"Oh, they don't want to just kill Gwen. They want to kill _me_ as well."

o*o*o

Tobey stepped into the tourist information center for the first time since he had learnt about it months ago. He had never found the courage to go inside. He kept his little fascination to himself and never stepped over the border of reality. It was all like another world to him until today. Now he finally could take that leap into the world of his dreams. He knew everything an outsider could know about Torchwood. Now he had to learn everything there was to know from the inside.

The room was empty. Only one light was glimmering, barely chasing the darkness into the corners of the room. There was a desk in the middle and a few cork boards with maps and tourist offers, all outdated by a few months. There were also a few fliers and some stationery lying on the table.

The door on the side of the room was slightly open. He went through and down an elevator until he reached a huge cement cog wheel that blocked the road.

He looked through one of the round glass windows in the cog wheel and saw Jack and another man discussing something. They were looking at the computer screen. They both looked in his direction at the same moment. Jack pressed a few keys on something he had on his wrist and the cog wheel rolled over revealing a pathway into the giant operation base.

"This is Tobey Magpie," Jack said. "He will be working for us temporarily. Tobey, Captain John Hart; John, Tobey Magpie," he introduced the two.

"Hi," Tobey said.

"And why did you recruit him?" John asked.

"It's only temporary and with just two people we won't be able to do much, will we?" Jack explained.

"Yes, but why him? I thought Eyecandy was alive," he said.

"And I thought you were jealous of him," Jack retaliated.

"Well... but at least I know him, and this guy just came out of nowhere!"

"Toshiko said he wasn't bad," Jack said returning to the computer. "I was thinking of him a while back but with everything getting complicated with the Four-Five-Six we were a little busy.

"Toshiko told you? When did that happen? I thought she died!"

"Well she said there was a new person in the police who kept updating the firewall trying to fight with her. I remembered it later."

"Do you think he will do the job?" John asked. They were talking as if Tobey wasn't there.

"He will certainly have a lot to learn but he must be up for it."

They looked at him. Tobey was looking straight at them with a dose of fear and fascination. He had never anticipated this turn of events. That and Torchwood being just two people.

"You can start by installing all the equipment properly," Jack said. "It's all behind that door," he pointed at the entrance to the lower levels where the prison cells were. "We have only two workspaces running right now excluding the rift monitor. There are a few computers you should get installed and connected to the server. I'll send you the file with all the details from Tosh's computer."

Tobey wasn't stupid so figuring out that they just wanted him gone for a while didn't take him long. But he was too excited to complain. And he wanted to prove himself.

Jack and John waited patiently for him to disappear behind the door.

"So you're saying they want to kill you?" John said with a note of disbelief. "I thought you couldn't die."

"I can't now, but back in the Time Agency there was no problem with that," Jack explained. "It seems that somebody doesn't like me very much. He wants to kill me and probably Gwen tpp, but doesn't bother with anyone else. What does that tell you?" he couldn't help his habit from when he was with Torchwood.

"If they kill you and Gwen Torchwood will be over," John said. "OK, but how would they kill you?" John asked feeling confused about the situation. "I mean you're just planting a bomb and safely leaving by the front door."

"The safe house has an alien technology detector and locks down whenever something unregistered enters the premises. So I wouldn't have a way to escape."

"What about the vortex manipulator?" John asked.

"The defense system sends out a weak magnetic impulse that shuts down all electrical devices. But the M3 bomb won't be affected because the impulse is too small."

"Right, and that person hates you so much he wants to kill you?"

"He hates me and Gwen and probably Torchwood as well," Jack corrected. "If only I were targeted then it could be anyone. But since its me and Gwen obviously it must be something Torchwood related. It seems he's angry about something. And I bet me and Gwen, we must be at the center of it. If he knows about the Time Agency he can move through time, most likely he's from the future. He wouldn't bother about the rest of Torchwood because they are either dead, unknown to him or after our death won't be involved in Torchwood at all. But M3... it's too big for an assassination. It's big enough to destroy the entire complex!"

"So we're stopping it, right?" John said and a grin appearing on his face. He could feel the excitement in Jack's voice and he himself could never resist a little adrenaline rush.

Jack grinned.

"That's what Torchwood is for."

o*o*o

Ianto waited patiently for Jack to leave the building. He was sitting on a bench right by the entrance just waiting. Before long the rain was pouring down in a torrent and sometimes the wind would blow towards the building and the water would rain on Ianto leaving him soaking wet.

He saw a few people entering and leaving and finally the building was closed for the night. It was early evening when the place became empty and dark. The only lights that were lit were the street lanterns and some faint lights from inside the closed aquarium.

Ianto searched his pockets and found the money he got from Jack. In the end Jack wouldn't take it back. He considered what he should do with it. His first thought, giving it back, was quickly overruled. He walked towards the bay in search for a hotel. He could no longer impose on Gwen and Rhys. But he wouldn't give up joining Torchwood. There was no way he could do that. He thought that maybe if he found something that could get Torchwood's interest he could get Jack's permission to join.

He thought again about searching for a room for the night but he had little time for sleep that night. He needed to get back to Torchwood. He needed to start executing his plan. He found an internet cafe which seemed to be opened late. He didn't immediately start searching the web for a case Jack might be interested in. First he asked the owner, a young man, probably his age, in a colorful buttoned-up shirt and with middle length brown, curly hair, if he could make a call. Thankfully, there was no problem with that.

He dialed Gwen's number almost automatically. He didn't have to wait long for the answer.

"Hello?" he recognized Gwen's voice. From the way she spoke he could easily say that she was preoccupied by something at the moment.

"Hi, this is Ianto," he said and smiled hearing the static resulting from shifting the phone.

"Hi Ianto," Gwen immediately changed her voice. "So... did anything happen?" she asked.

"Well aside from Jack buying himself peace from me nothing," Ianto said.

"I told you it's too dangerous, Ianto, and Jack knows it," Gwen said. "You shouldn't be surprised."

"I'm not," Ianto said, his voice losing that bit of amusement he had earlier. He prolonged the silence on both sides. "I can't give up," he finally said with his voice filled with nothing but pure desperation. "Not now."

There was silence from Gwen's side of the phone. For a second Ianto thought that maybe she wasn't listening to him anymore but a loud sigh made him reject that thought.

"I'll talk to Jack tomorrow," she said. "But I'm never doing it again. No more help from me ever. So don't think me cold hearted. You died once, Ianto, I just don't want to see you that again. Ever."

Ianto smiled. Gwen's tone reminded him of a child who's too stubborn to say that it's not right. He knew that Gwen did have a point but she must've also understood what the truth meant to him. And in his case Torchwood _was _the truth. After all he had seen how attached she was to Torchwood herself. And he had little doubt that back when he was alive, alive and with memories, he had the same attitude towards it. Somehow, he knew that he was really, really happy then.

"Thanks," he said, relief and joy fighting in his voice.

Gwen hung up and Ianto was finally at peace. He had absolutely no doubt that he deserved to know what exactly happened to him. Now it was just about the means.

He sat down behind one of the computers and immediately knew that this was going to be a very long night.

* * *

><p>Hope you enjoyed the story so far - I would've made this part longer but it was just the perfect place to stop.<p>

The ending - I promise it will have a bit more action than this part - coming soon :-)


	7. Episode 2: Part 4

**A/N: **OK, so here's the last Another Captain installment. Enjoy :)

Also, I apologize for not making breaks between the different character POV I'm having a few problems with that - for some reason fanfiction doesn't save it so I have to change the characters I use. I'll go through previous episodes tomorrow and put in the breaks. Didn't notice it until now.

* * *

><p>Jack didn't leave the Hub for the entire night. It was never much pleasure being stuck in that empty building with nothing but the sound of computers working and the water sliding down the water fountain. He remembered how awful it had felt when Ianto died and after the short break of spending most of his nights in his company he had to return to being alone.<p>

The Captain checked the monitors. There had been little, if any rift activity since the day before and that frightened him. It could either be interpreted as a nice change or a very bad turn for the worse. After all, who knew what this break might mean. It could be a silence before a huge storm that was about to break over Cardiff and Jack thought that possibility more probable then everything sorting itself out on its own.

John went partying - one thing that never changed. The former Time Agent never failed to visit a bar if he was in a new place, even if he was there for a mere couple of hours. And somehow he had always managed to pick somebody up when he wasn't wrecking the bar. If that was the case, then he was usually successful in having everybody leave.

Jack wasn't surprised when he saw Ianto standing outside the Tourist Information Center. He tried to convince himself that it wasn't the same person, that losing such a huge chunk of one's life changes it completely, but he couldn't. That desperate look on the man's face, that was the Ianto he knew.

"Ianto..." he said to himself, his voice filled with sparks of both delight and annoyance.

He looked at the cup of coffee he had bought earlier but never finished. It was really horrible. And no coffee was as good as Ianto's.

He left through the huge cog wheel entrance to the Hub and picked up his coat on the way out. Ianto was already there prepared to stand up to Jack in a fight.

"I am not giving up, sir," he said almost immediately after seeing Jack.

"I know that," Jack smiled.

"I can do whatever work you want me to do, I can do office work, I can even just clean and catalogue, I can arrange for the meals," Ianto continued, desperate.

Jack didn't answer at first. He was weighing his options. One more argument. If Ianto would fight just a little bit longer then he would accept him. Plus, it was a bit fun seeing him try so hard.

"I already told you that you're not getting in," he said.

"Then I guess you wouldn't be interested in capturing a..." Ianto started but Jack cut in.

"It can wait. I need a good coffee," Jack ordered.

"What?" Ianto blinked surprised by the ease of convincing Jack.

"You're in," Jack said. "And I need that coffee straight away."

Jack was smiling. Just a few minutes ago he was about to reject any and all of Ianto's pleads but he couldn't do that now.

"Right away, sir," Ianto said .

"Just," Jack stopped him right before Ianto managed to place his hand on the handle, "you'll need to go and buy some. And the coffee machine is busted. I have no idea where you got your previous one."

"Of course," Ianto turned around, still having that little barrier of unapproachability he had had the first time he started working for Torchwood.

o*o*o

Tobey's first day wasn't the most exciting but it certainly was the most promising of all first days he had ever had. Moving equipment could be quite boring but when he finally saw what they had installed he was more than awed. Torchwood had access to everything: CCTV, police, hospitals, they had hacked into probably every possible government database existing on the planet. There were translating programs (which worked also on alien languages) and satellite access, something called Rift Activity Monitor attached to a huge tube with all kinds of wires which was placed in the middle of the Hub. He wasn't allowed to touch that and having a vision of using all sorts of other alien technology he wasn't especially disappointed.

Tobey could easily feel that he wasn't being trusted by John but he worked hard and listened to every single rule, regulation, obligation and prohibition and followed every instruction in setting up the computers. For once he actually followed the rules. He only wished this resolution would last.

And now he was back. He went inside remembering all the instructions and codes. Jack was checking something on the internet. It was the same thing he googled the day before. Something about a bank robbery in Cardiff.

"Do you think there are aliens involved?" Tobey asked.

The way Jack ignored him at first suggested it was a bad way to start the subject on his first day at work.

"It's worse than that," Jack said but didn't explain more. He turned around suddenly when the cog wheel door opened again. "Coffee, finally," he said seeing Ianto with a bag of groceries in his hands. "Over there," he pointed at the place where the coffee machine always stood. "But come over, first," he said jumping down the spiral stairs to the Autopsy Room. "And as for you," he turned to Tobey, "that computer is yours," he said, pointing at Tosh's former post.

Ianto left the groceries on the sofa and followed Jack. He was still amazed at how the Hub had changed just because all the lights and equipment were working. The last time he had been here it was dark then only lights lit were red emergency lights and a few white lights near the Rift Manipulator.

Before Ianto could reach Jack the cog wheel door opened again. This time John entered the Hub, head up high and with such confidence that one could even think that he owned the place and was the Torchwood First in Charge.

"Now this place sure changed a lot since yesterday," he said looking at all the computers and equipment working properly and then turning his gaze onto Ianto. "I see you're back from the dead, Eye Candy," he said seemingly casually but there was a hint of nervousness in his voice that Jack didn't fail to miss.

"Have you done what I asked you to do?" Jack asked cautiously.

"The beauty is parked outside," John said showing Jack the keys to the SUV. "You've got quite a stock of those there, Jack."

"A lot of things happen to them," Jack explained. "Occasionally they even get stolen," he added and a small smile appeared on his face at the memory.

"So what are you two up to then?" John asked casually walking towards the Autopsy Room. "I'm John by the way," he added remembering that Ianto had lost his memory. "We knew each other."

Jack rolled his eyes. Meeting someone while that person tried to destroy the world wasn't exactly called knowing.

"We're checking Ianto for aliens," Jack said trying his best to hide the whimsical smile appearing on his face. Not even a year ago that sentence would have meant something completely different than it did now.

Ianto didn't notice Jack's slightly changed voice and that tiny bit of self-restrain. He did however notice his eyes cautiously following John. Jack looked at the man in the French-Napoleon jacket the same way he looked at Ianto but at the same time completely differently. His gaze whenever he turned to Ianto was full of trust and melancholy but also content and happiness. However whenever he looked at John that bit of trust he had for Ianto would change into anger and cautiousness.

"Right..." John smiled.

"Place your hand on this plate," Jack instructed Ianto. "It will scan your whole body. Kind of like an x-ray but it can detect abnormalities depending on the settings," he explained.

Ianto obediently placed his hand on the plastic plate that reminded him a bit of a small light box only the plastic was black and not white. There were a few cables connecting it to the power supply and other equipment in the room. At the same time Jack was typing data into the computer. It took a few minutes until the scan was completed and the results were displayed. Almost every possible detail about Ianto's condition was marked red. The pulse was far too faint, his organs seemed to be failing or - more likely - recovering. Only his brain was functioning normally. There were traces of extraterrestrial energy present around his body, focused in a few points - mainly in his heart, lungs and stomach. They were in constant movement.

"This isn't very good, is it?" Ianto said seeing the results projected on the white wall above.

"Well at least we know that something is keeping you alive," Jack concluded. "Otherwise you wouldn't be able to stand up. And it seems that it's just enough to keep you going. But we still don't know what happened to your memories, what these things are and if they are healing you or not. Or, if you are really human. For all I know any creature could imitate those statistics." Ianto wanted to protest but Jack continued without stopping. "Or maybe there's another explanation?" Jack added gazing at John. "I'll ask you again: when you said you messed things up, what exactly did you mean by that?"

"Right..." John knew he couldn't escape that look of accusation. "Before I say anything, let me just say something in my defence," he said. "First, I didn't mean any harm to anyone. I swear this time I really wanted a happy ending. Second, I wanted to land here a week earlier. This whole thing would've been avoided if we got here last week. And third I had nothing to do with him forgetting you being his..." he coughed noticing Jack's evil glare. "His boss... and all that," he corrected. He approached Ianto and snapped his fingers right next to his ears. A tiny, barely visible ball of light appeared on the tip of his finger.

"They're nano-genes," Jack said. "But it's impossible! They don't take so long to heal somebody. Plus, Ianto was dead, I saw it with my own eyes! He was cold!"

"Yes, usually it takes seconds for them to heal even the biggest of wounds," John started explaining, "but there were maybe twenty of them, probably even less. And remember, they usually work in groups of millions, tens of millions... hundreds of millions? Something along those lines anyway. So do the maths. Besides he was poisoned and, well yes, theoretically dead. That gave them a bit of work to do."

"Theoretically dead?" Jack couldn't help but notice a hint of cynicism in John's voice as he said that.

"Yes, theoretically. In practice, I don't know how or why but his brain was still working even though his body was dead."

"OK, we'll talk about this later. We've got a mission to do," Jack said suddenly changing the subject. He still couldn't trust John completely and there were a few things he wanted to ask him and he preferred not to in the Hub, depending on what kind of answers he could receive. "Tobey, be on the comms at all times and keep monitoring the area in case anything happens. Ianto, you settle Murro's case. All the documents, safe house, job, you know the drill. Also, make this place look presentable and maybe take care of upstairs. Oh, and one more thing Ianto," he run up-to him and gave him a credit card. Ianto didn't want to know how he got hold of it in such a short time. Just yesterday he was still stealing from cash machine.

"I'm guessing bills, equipment and such?" Ianto said.

"Yes," Jack couldn't help but smile. No matter what happened that man never had any problems with figuring out what was on his mind.

Jack followed John outside but Tobey stopped him in the middle with a very unexpected question.

"What about Andy?" he asked.

"Andy?" Jack repeated surprised. "What about him?"

"Well he's been kept in the dark for all this time, but he's not stupid. He knows something is going on," Tobey explained. He just couldn't help but feel guilty about the whole situation. He felt as if he had used Andy and then just threw him away when he had achieved what he wanted.

"And...?" Jack said it without any care.

"All I'm saying is that you can't read everything out of police records," he said knowing that Jack would easily take the hint.

"I'll think about it," Jack said with distaste. He was giving in to too many requests recently. First John, then hiring Tobey and Ianto and now he was actually considering the request about Andy. He knew that Tobey didn't necessarily mean hiring Andy but only cooperating with him and telling him the truth he deserved to hear.

He left right afterwards leaving the two alone in the Hub. Tobey put on his ear piece and turned around to Ianto. 'So, what's up with you and Jack?" he asked. He could easily see there was more to that relationship than boss and his employee.

"What do you mean?" Ianto asked clueless.

"Nothing really," Tobey decided to drop the subject. "And what's the deal with you forgetting? I mean you did stop by the police station earlier and everything."

"I don't know," Ianto said. "It seems that I died and then in some miracle way came back to life and forgot everything I knew about Torchwood. Torchwood and my life during that time. Except for some things that I think never really mattered to me that much."

"Have you had any luck remembering anything?" Tobey asked.

"Not really," Ianto said. "I can sometimes feel like something is right or just normal when I should be thinking it's something completely weird or impossible."

Tobey smiled. "Well, I searched for Torchwood for two years. Now that I'm here I can't really figure out what is going on. Is this reality or just another dream of mine. You on the other hand. You finally lost that lost-boy look of yours. You must feel really at home here."

Ianto looked at him surprised. He felt so comfortable he hadn't even noticed the change. "I guess your right."

o*o*o

John approached the black SUV and entered from the drivers side. Jack opposed the idea almost immediately.

"You are _not_ driving!" he said firmly.

"Oh, come on, let a guy have some fun!" John argued playfully.

Jack didn't give in. He stood in front of the door waiting for John to scoot over to the passengers seat. He was patient and finally John gave up and with a long sigh he changed his seat. Jack went in and started the engine. He smiled unconsciously feeling the wheel under his fingers. He was so used to driving the SUV the cold wheel felt natural.

"There's one thing I want to ask you," he said once they were already on their way. "How did you know about Ianto?"

"You really don't wanna know..." John said with a grimace. But Jack was squeezing the wheel now and his knuckles were white and if he weren't driving he would be staring right at John. Jack's glances that were sent his way were enough to make him spill out what he knew. Which was very little actually. "Somebody told me," he said. "And I don't know who it was to be honest. I just got a message. And those few nanogenes I gave Ianto."

"I'm surprised you didn't sell them. Miracles always catch a high price."

"I know you like assuming that I'm the black character in all this but I honestly am not. At least not this time. And at least not completely black. I was honestly trying to help."

There was a long silence before Jack said something. And it was the last word that John had expected to hear: "Thanks," Jack said. John almost expected him to blush when he spoke that word.

Jack took out a mobile and dialed. He dialed Gwen's number and then Rhys's office when he couldn't reach her. But none of them answered. He cursed and tucked the phone into his pocket. None of the numbers worked.

"She's not there," he said frustrated. "We have to reach the safe house before she does. Before I do..." he corrected.

"We'll have to hurry then," John said.

John dialed again. This time the Hub. "Tobey," he said quickly as soon as the call passed through. He didn't even give Tobey a chance to take a breath and say anything. "Clear the streets, we don't have any time to lose."

o*o*o

Finding the right place wasn't very hard. Jack stood on the parking in front of four blocks of flats. Almost everything was ready. Gwen Cooper's Honda was parked next to a red Reno on the end of the parking lot. He was just waiting for the bomb. Aoife was supposed to deliver it to him. The connection in yesterday's call from her was very bad for some reason but when he tried to contact her back it got a lot better. She had said that she would give him the right equipment today before the compartment block. She didn't however mention when she would arrive so he had been waiting since dawn around the building.

The air next to one of the lamp posts flickered and in a blue light Aoife appeared with a device in her bionic hand.

"You certainly took your time," Jack commented with a smile.

Without any feelings expressed on her face she passed the bomb to Jack. He took it from her casually. She stared at him intensely and finally she closed her eyes and embraced Jack tightly. "Be careful," she whispered into his ear. She then kissed him on the cheek to his utter surprise. "And you were right. About me and Nathan..."

"Well if you ever get bored I'm always there for you," Jack said smiling. His voice was playful but his eyes showed that he was surprise by those bits of emotions she had showed him recently.

But Aoife disappeared just moments later and Jack returned to being alone on the parking lot. And a car was approaching. He entered the first building. And just before a black SUV rode into the parking lot at a speed a lot faster than the recommended sixty kilometres per hour limit.

o*o*o

Jack swerved and at full speed rode onto the parking lot. He stopped rapidly and John had to hold the handle above the door to keep in place. He heard the rubber tires squeak against the asphalt paving. Then they stopped. For a few seconds they sat in the car, Jack scanning the parking lot and the windows and John waiting for the right moment to announce his plan.

"I'll deal with Jack... you..." he said when he saw Jack's hand on the door handle.

"Do you want to... leave?" Jack raised his eyebrow. He was staring at Gwen's car already parked neatly at the end of the parking lot.

"As much as I hate it," John said in a very theatrical voice. "I'm afraid we can't meet each other from now on." He smiled more leniently, "Maybe someday you'll let me into this world of yours of your free will."

Then they left for the building door. Jack opened it with the code key and followed John in. He left the automatic lockdown disabled. He had to check four flats, two of them were in this building and the other two in two different ones. He hoped to find Gwen in one of the first two to save the time. He rushed up the stairs taking no notice of John who was heading down stairs to the basement where it was most likely for Jack to plant the bomb.

The first flat he checked was under the number "3". He pushed the doorbell and heard a sweet melody of singing birds coming from inside the flat. Soon the door opened. The person didn't look like the owner of such a doorbell at all. He looked a bit like a retired boxer with a bold head and a bit of fat hidden under a much too big T-shirt. He wasn't a very likable person but Torchwood members' duties were clear. Also, jumping in time sixty years can make a person a bit grumpy.

Mark Thomas had a great career being a military officer after the end of World War Two. But instead the rift had taken him and he got stuck in the twenty first century where he was absolutely nobody. His experiences in war made it very easy to explain to him what happened but he had lost his previous confident self forever.

"Jack," he said with such distaste that Jack had almost felt the air around them get thicker.

"I'm looking for Gwen. Has she been here?" Jack asked wanting to leave as soon as it was possible.

"No," the man shook his head.

Jack didn't bother with a goodbye. He knew that whatever he did he would never gain the sympathy of this person. He doubted anybody could.

He rushed up the stairs to the flat right above Mark's. This would be a much more pleasant visit. He waited for only a few moments after ringing the door bell. He knew immediately that he was lucky this time. He heard Gwen's voice and another girl's younger than Gwen.

Lilly, unlike her neighbour from downstairs, was one of the most cheerful aliens to come to Cardiff. She was light years away from her home planet and only thanks to a device on her neck she could hide her blue skin and other reptilish features she had had since birth. She had blue lenses hiding her normally yellow and green eyes. Her hair was dark blond and reached her shoulders. She had a blue dress on with flower patterns on it. The ever-present smile lit her face and made her red cheeks look childish. She was older than Gwen but her voice and features were still that of a young adult.

"Hi!" Jack kissed the girl on the cheek. "Is Gwen here?"

"Yup!" she said radiating happiness as usual.

She had changed so much since they found her on one of their trips to London. She didn't come through the rift but her teleportation device had gone wrong and taken her to Earth. She was terrified when instead of her family she saw hundreds of humans walking down Oxford Street. She cried for weeks stuck with the Torchwood team in the Hub with nobody she knew and unable to go outside because of her body. After the holographic device was found she finally cheered up and although she still felt isolated she started assimilating with the new world.

"Jack?" Gwen went slipped out of the living room.

Jack passed Lilly, grabbed Gwen's hand and pulled her out of the flat.

"We have to go," he said seriously.

"Jack, I have to take Alex," Gwen said pulling her hand out.

"Lilly, if you could," Jack said to the alien girl. She nodded. Her eyes showed a bit of fear but she didn't ask questions.

Lilly put her hand on Gwen's shoulder and gently pushed Gwen forward.

"Wait, Jack!" Gwen protested but the girl was far stronger than Gwen had expected her to be.

The two women rushed down; Lilly led Gwen out of the building. The former Torchwood agent didn't stop complaining. She tried freeing herself from Lilly's hold and finally when she did she rushed back to the building and up the stairs. Lilly couldn't stop her.

o*o*o

John went down the stairs quickly, jumping two or sometimes three steps at a time. There was that tiny bit of fascination making his heart beat faster. He wondered how big was the change in Jack since he had left the Time Agency. He knew that Jack was different now but just how much did he change? And there was the second thing. He loved Jack, the old Jack. The one he used to work with. But once he had found Jack again this time in twenty first century Cardiff that had changed. Now he loved the new Jack as well, the one he knew so much and yet so little about, the one he had both everything and nothing in common. He couldn't figure out at all what would happen next. His own heart was a stranger to him. And he couldn't help feeling that tiny bit of nostalgia whenever he looked at Jack. Those good old time in the Time Agency won't come back. They can't. Not anymore... Or could they?

It was fairly easy to find Jack. John could recognize that way of dressing everywhere. No grey overcoat, yet. But there had always been that bit of military feeling to him ever since he had taken on the name Captain Jack Harkness.

John was confused till the last second before he started to talk to him. Should he tell him he was from the future or should he simply act as if he were from the Time Agency. The second option was a far better strategically but he did prefer the first one just to see Jack's reaction. And then there was the other problem. Or maybe not a problem but an opportunity. Now that Jack was still the old Jack, the Jack that didn't hate the Time Agency he could maybe have his old Jack back. And by far the biggest problem of them all was what to tell him about the whole mess he was in. That the Time Agency wanted to kill him?

John took out a small object from his pocket. Jack still didn't notice him.

"Two years, huh?" he said to himself. After what Jack had told him about his all the pieces came together. "It's an awful lot of time for some people," he said. Then he looked up. It was a very weird feeling to see Jack's former self just minutes after seeing the present one. After travelling in time back and forth for so long he had gotten used to seeing surroundings change in a blink of an eye. But it was so much different to see that happen to a person he knew. "Jack," he said, his voice still full of hesitation.

Jack turned around. His face expressed surprise mixed with something that John has missed in the present Jack. Or to more exact: the Jack he had met in the bar on a far away planet. It was the joy of seeing an old friend and the will to live. He didn't plan on taking Jack to Cardiff in the beginning. But Jack, although he kept hiding it, was happier now than he was a day ago on the Platorian planet.

"Long time no see!" Jack said. "What brings you here?"

John smiled. This was probably the first time in a long time that his meeting with Jack didn't involve any fighting.

"There are new orders," he said. "I'm getting you out of here and we have a different mission," he bluffed.

"I'm nearly done here," Jack protested. "This sounded quite important." He really was nearly done. After setting up the range and force of the bomb all that was left was the timing.

John sighed. Maybe there would be fighting involved after all?

"Jack, listen to me! Shut that thing down and we're getting out of here. They weren't going to give you any money anyways, so..."

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked still not letting go of the controls.

John bit his lips. And here he hoped for just one normal conversation. He also hoped that he wouldn't have blurted that nonsense out. He stepped closer and hit Jack. _Why does it always have to end with this?_ he thought observing if the bomb left his hands or not. Jack wasn't an easy opponent and John new that perfectly well. But this time he could resolve things a lot differently.

After being hit twice more by his colleague, he set the controls on his vortex manipulator. He then snuck up behind Jack and held his former colleague's hand against the strap. It wouldn't last long and he knew that just one move was enough to knock him off his feet in this position but it was enough for those few seconds that he needed.

"Where are we going?" Jack asked quickly feeling the leather under his fingers and figuring out what John had just done.

"Somewhere far away," John said and added a quiet "I hope" on the end. He felt that there was something going on with his manipulator. That week time change was not a coincidence. But telling that to Jack would be the biggest mistake of his life so he decided to leave that one tiny detail out.

o*o*o

Gwen rushed up the stairs. Her heart was beating faster than ever and she was mad at Jack for doing what he had just done. But she was mostly mad at the fact that she was trying to once more put the blame on Jack. She knew that taking Alex here wasn't the greatest idea but she did it anyway out of her mother pride. It seemed easy to blame everything on Jack and she realized that doing that was doing more harm than if she had just realized her own fault. In that anger she almost bumped into Jack who was walking down the stairs with her baby. After leading her out he had come to take Alex. But Gwen felt unsure about leaving him with her boss.

Jack was going down fast but was careful and looked before stepping on each step. He stopped when he noticed Gwen. The mother exhaled with huge relief and took her baby from Jack. Her heart was beating fast but it was now calming down with Alex close to her chest. He was outside of his baby carrier but that was explainable. After all it would've taken so much more time to take Alex out safely if Jack were to take safety measures before taking him downstairs.

Jack, however, wasn't happy with this turn of events. Gwen had returned to the building and she was once again in danger. He told her to hurry up.

Outside he finally gave a proper explanation.

"The me from the past is trying to blow up the building and you with it," he said quite bluntly and with no introduction.

"Aren't you going to stop yourself?" Gwen asked.

"I can't," Jack answered. His eyes were fixed at the door but they looked at something other than what was in front of them. "From now it all depends on John."

"Don't tell me... _That_ John?"

"None other," Jack said.

"I'm going in," she said. The tone of her voice was enough to suggest that she didn't trust John in this matter at all. Nor in fact in any other matter.

Jack stopped her. He grabbed her arm, gently but firmly enough for her to not be able to escape.

"Whoever is doing this wants you and me dead," he said. "Whatever happens, we can't let him get what he wants," he explained.

"So what do we do now?" Gwen asked skeptically, not in the least convinced by Jack's words.

"We go," Jack said turning around towards the SUV.

Gwen didn't like John but she didn't expect this kind of behaviour from Jack.

"So, we're just going to abandon him?" she asked outraged. She didn't like John but it wasn't enough to accept Jack leaving him like this.

"There's nothing I can do!" Jack insisted. "It was his choice. Take Alex and Lilly and get as far away as you can..."

"Excuse me," Lilly interrupted them bashfully. "What exactly is happening?" she asked.

Jack's face twisted in a grimace. The smile was gone from his alien friend's face now and fear now entered her eyes. He hadn't seen her look like this since the day they first saw her hidden under her coat, trying to hide her face away from the crowds.

"There might be a bomb planted in the building," Jack said. "And it's me who planted the bomb. Now my friend is trying to stop myself from doing it."

"Shouldn't we ring the drill?" Lilly asked. She was quite understanding of the extraterrestrial matters which some people – be they human or alien – just couldn't comprehend. As an alien herself she was more tolerant and she didn't have to have everything explained to her properly. And which was probably the most important thing - she could think more clearly when something of this sort happened.

"You two should go," Jack insisted.

Gwen looked at him once more, her gaze blaming him for all that had happened. She knew she couldn't win with him now. She placed Alex in the hands of Lilly and herself sat behind the wheel. She didn't even bother to say goodbye and drove away gazing at Jack angry in her rear-view mirror.

Jack waited for the car to disappear. The bomb still hadn't exploded so he could deduce that John most likely succeeded in stopping or delaying him. He went into the building. The word _passive_ just didn't appear in his dictionary. The basement was empty. There was a bomb lying on the floor, dropped, the screen displaying a sequence of signs. It wasn't activated just yet. He hid the device in his jacket. He smiled, for once being thankful that John had come to Earth.

o*o*o

Ianto was cleaning the tourist information office when Jack entered. He looked up from behind the desk to see his boss take off his grey military coat and hang it on the hanger right behind the door. Jack looked around. Without all the dust and old, out of date fliers this place looked a lot like it used to some time before. Which was a good thing. He could easily deduce that Ianto maybe had forgotten what he had been doing but for sure he had some sort of instinct that helped him fill those gaps. After all he knew exactly what to do and had no problem with doing what he was supposed to without proper explanations.

"Murro is now Remus Gill, sir" Ianto said not looking up. "All the files are on your desk."

Jack knew Ianto well enough to see through his awkward behaviour. Ianto wanted to ask something but wouldn't dare to in case he did something wrong. In most cases Jack would just wait but this time he wasn't sure if he would eventually say what was troubling him. He had no choice but to ask Ianto about it.

"I want to see my sister... and my... grave," Ianto answered. He was still looking away. Gwen wouldn't tell him anything and he started to understand her but he still wanted to see it. To see the life he used to lead even if it was just a glimpse.

Jack looked at him to ensure himself that he was serious. He told him the name of the cemetery. "But your sister... just be careful what words you use," he added.

Ianto smiled. He still wasn't entirely sure whether he wanted to see his resting place and his sister or not but was thankful that Jack gave him the choice.

"Oh, and there's a letter for you," Ianto added when Jack was already heading towards the staircase. "I put it on your desk," he said and when Jack was already in the corridor and out of his sight he added loudly: "it looks like a love letter!"

Jack smiled. He had another admirer, or so it seemed.

Once inside the Hub he greeted Tobey who looked like he was finishing his job and putting all the data about Murro's new identity into the government system. Tobey turned around the moment he heard Jack's voice. He looked around and saw that John wasn't with him. "Where's John?" he asked.

"Probably somewhere far away," Jack said content.

Tobey raised his eyebrow. He was still not used to this job but there was something about Jack's voice that made him wonder what "far away" actually meant.

"He isn't, you know... dead... right?" he asked.

Jack smiled. "I think the last thing John is is dead. He may not be immortal but I doubt he'd be dying any time soon either."

Tobey started wondering about those weird words. But he couldn't delve into it any more because Jack had already gone into his office.

The letter on the Jack's desk really looked like a love letter. The envelope was pale pink with Jack's name neatly calligraphed on it. The paper inside was white and plain but it looked like each inch of the paper was entirely covered in neat script. He put it away. There were still a few things to do. Three people in Torchwood were a few too little he concluded.

o*o*o

Ianto stood in front of a small gravestone that didn't really differ from all the others on the cemetery. There was one flower lying there already withered away. The name read "Ianto Jones". Underneath there was only his date of birth and apparent death. He couldn't help but feel disappointed. There was no "rest in peace" or "loving husband". Of course, he hadn't had a proper life when he was in Torchwood. Apparently, his friends were dead and out of all those he knew only Gwen had stayed in Cardiff and out of what Ianto had seen in her house she seemed to want to distance herself from Torchwood as much as possible. Who had left this flower then? He had no doubt it was Rhiannon, his sister. After all chrysanthemums were her favourite flowers. He looked to his right, ready to leave and there she was. His lovely, lovely sister who was the first and last person he wanted to speak to at that moment.

Rhiannon's hands were held up to her lips, a bouquet of flowers lied dropped next her feet.

"Oh my god," she repeated a few times slowly approaching Ianto. "It is you, isn't it?"

"I missed you," Ianto said. This wasn't a lie he realized a moment later. He really did miss his sister. She was the only anchor of normality for him right now. The only person he remembered.

Rhiannon hugged Ianto tightly and the brother gladly returned the embrace. He thought he would cry but he ended up trying to cheer her sister up like a proper big brother. And he was the younger sibling.

"How is this even possible?" the woman asked. "That bloody Torchwood of yours... I always knew it would do you no good."

Ianto released his sister. "I think there will come a time for explanations," he said. "I need to figure out a few things myself."

"Then you're going back to Torchwood, aren't you?" his sister barely held back the tears. "Do you want me to live waking up every day thinking that it might happen again? Like it did last time?"

Ianto didn't answer. "Have you told anybody about my past?" he changed the subject.

"How could I do that," Rhiannon looked at him with pity. Her face was tired. She couldn't stand Ianto's work being so dangerous but most of all his secrecy and lack of trust. Those few times when he had visited she thought that maybe it had changed a bit but it was all her imagination.

"Torchwood is the only place where I can get answers," Ianto said after a prolonged silence. "And that's what I need the most right now."

_Just be careful, Ianto,_ his sister thought but couldn't say these words out loud. She knew that in the end they wouldn't matter at all.

Ianto walked away without a word. He found his way through the maze of tombstones onto the street. But just before he walked out of the ornamented gate something caught his eye. The gravestone was obscure, probably over fifty years old. Only the sign on the bottom was clearly visible: _loving husband, loyal friend, an honorary citizen_. But the name was barely readable. To someone who didn't know it it would've been hard to decipher. But Ianto knew that name and he was certain he didn't misread it. The sign on the tombstone was _Captain Jack Harkness_.

o*o*o

Police Constable Andy left the station in the already late afternoon. He had done his rounds and filed in the reports. But all the urban delinquents and fights and bad-mouthed brats and petty thieves made him realize something. After loosing his chance of a promotion he wasn't angry. He was furious. He had worked stopping minor crime at least five years now and he saw absolutely no improvement. Seeing Jack Harkness on the opposite side of the road didn't really lighten his mood. Torchwood never meant anything but trouble.

Andy crossed the road and approached the man. "So, you came to officially tell me to bugger off?" he asked not bothering with formalities.

Jack raised his brow. "Do you want me to tell you that?" he answered with a question.

Andy took a moment to consider. "I don't know," he answered truthfully. He wasn't sure if all the "alien bollocks" was his thing or not. On the one hand he was curious and tired of Gwen avoiding him, on the other, he wasn't sure if he wanted to get in all that dangerous situations. Yes, he had chosen the police occupation himself and was ready to take the risk and stand up for his country but Torchwood was another thing altogether. For one thing he doubted they even worked for a country.

But then of course, there was Gwen...

"Well, I don't want to get you out of the way..." Jack said and Andy looked at him puzzled with a tiny bit of fear and hope in his eyes. "But I won't recruit you either."

Andy raised his brow. "Do you always talk in this roundabout way?" he asked. "I can't help but think what an amazing leader you are..." a hint of irony was present in his voice.

"The best," Jack smiled ignoring the sarcastic tone. "It would be a good thing if we had somebody like you, somebody in the police who would inform us of any unusual situations. Considering all the information we've got to filter through another pair of hands would be quite helpful. And everybody knows you don't really do anything. You would be useful. As an informant. A liaison if you would."

Andy looked at Jack with disbelief. He couldn't tell whether he was praising or criticizing him. But he couldn't just say no. "Bloody Torchwood," he murmured and walked away.

Jack smiled. From the look on Andy's face he could tell it was a "yes".

"I'll contact you about the details!" he said after him.

o*o*o

Jack returned to the Hub. Tobey had already left and Ianto was sorting through old files in the dim light.

"I thought you'd already gone home," Jack said.

"I took the afternoon off, so I thought I'd do a bit of work just to catch up with things," Ianto explained.

"Well, don't worry about it. There's nothing urgent on right now. You can just go home anyway."

Ianto stopped what he was doing.

"Oh," Jack remarked. "You still haven't got a place, have you?"

"I don't want to impose on Gwen too much."

"Well you can't stay here working all night."

Ianto looked down. He didn't like where this conversation was going. And he could read the atmosphere: Jack wanted him gone. But there was one thing he wanted to ask first. "Was there anything between us? You know, before... It feels like Gwen isn't telling me something."

"We were good friends," Jack answered a bit too quickly. "The thing Gwen said was quite accurate. Danger bonds you together in a way nothing else does."

"Yes, good..." Ianto fell silent and the atmosphere suddenly felt awkward. He finally put all the files on the table. "I'll be going then," he said but didn't move from the spot.

"Right, I'll see you later then," Jack said. "We'll get your apartment sorted out tomorrow."

"Thank you, sir," Ianto finally started to leave.

He was halfway up the stairs when Jack called him once more. "That's my favourite suit by the way," he said and immediately regretted it. Old habits die hard.

Ianto smiled unconsciously while his face turned red. "I'll try to wear it more often then." He felt he couldn't linger on. "Good night sir."

"Good night Ianto!"

Jack stayed trying to frown and smile at the same time. He wanted to tell Ianto the truth immediately but he didn't want to put pressure on him. That and he was scared of losing him again. He didn't know how he could ever go through that again. But he knew that he would have to and probably not only once. He pushed the thoughts away and focused on that one last thing he needed to do that day. He took the letter he had gotten earlier and opened it carefully. He read what was inside:

"Dear Jack, It has probably been a mere few days for you since we met, but for me it has been over ten years. I still remember perfectly well that night when you and John changed my life. My heart was beating faster than usual then and it wasn't just because of the danger and excitement. In that bar, on that night, you were my first love, Jack, and even if I knew you for barely a few hours you meant the world to me. Of course, I do realize that I was childish and inexperienced back then. But you opened the door to a life of adventures for me. And I thank you for that.

"After you left me I escaped the planet on one of the ships that docked there. On the next planet I found a person with whom I travelled the universe back and forth, past and future. It had been hard at first, before he noticed me running through the crowd. I tried learning about the objects we had stolen but it was obvious to me that some of the people there wanted to cheat me. In fact, I was swindled a few times. I met him while stealing food from a cram. I was forced to do it that one time. As I was running away he helped me and we both escaped from the planet and hid somewhere far away from those docks. He was very intelligent and I can't deny that very handsome as well (though not as handsome as you). I was really shocked when he threw away most of the things that we had stolen from the police headquarters. He asked me if I wanted to travel with him. I don't know why but I just couldn't not trust him. Oh and where didn't we go, Jack! I travelled so much, and I have seen so many beautiful places! I still can't believe my luck to have met him. I've seen the seven moons of Nanarond and the aurora polaris. It was all beautiful but could not compare to the light I had seen on my home planet. I have never returned there to see that sunrise again, but if I have a chance I will do so without a second thought.

"I have looked for many things during my journeys and found many things as well. Not always those for which I had searched for but always what I needed. I found love. Love and happiness. He is the exact opposite of you. Not a superhero type. He is quite normal but I love him and I think that I will always do. I am happy with him.

"I also searched for you during those past years. I've found horrible things during that time and beautiful things as well. I have learnt of your friend and lover Ianto. The one you spoke of before. It was me who gave the tip to John about him being still alive. He doesn't know it though. I can't say my information source was reliable or that I could trust the people who gave me the tools to save him but I figured that if there was any chance then it must be risked. I know now that it helped and I hope that you two are happy together. Or at least that you feel relieved.

"That brings me to the main point of this letter. I fear that you are in grave danger. And by you, I mean you, Jack and the whole of Torchwood. This is when it all changes and if you are not prepared then the changes will not be good. They will try to kill you, Jack, because you are the only person who can stop them. I can't tell you much more, not because I don't want to but because I don't know much more about them. I fear that they might be controlling more than I originally thought. I don't know how far they have delved into this society in order to find a way to assassinate you and your friend Gwen Cooper. I wish you good luck for I fear we might not be able to meet again. I wish we did but no one really knows where our path takes us. With love and hope, Zoe."

Jack was smiling while reading the beginning of the letter. Only the ending made a grimace sneak onto his face. It was never just about saying hello. And it seemed that Zoe didn't know about all that had happened.

Danger was coming. Again. He knew that now he would just be waiting for the new day to come. And after the twilight he and Torchwood would be ready for whatever was coming.

* * *

><p>Thanks to Ash-Vernei for beta-reading :)<p>

Third episode coming up next Friday - I'm on holiday since today so I'm taking some time off from publishing.


	8. Episode 3: Part 1

Hello, thank you all for reading. Here's the 3rd episode :) Starts of a bit weird I guess but it all gets explained in the end... I think. Anyways, enjoy :)

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><p><strong>Episode 3: A Different Kind of Heart<strong>

I've been always watching her. I know what her whole day looks like. It starts with the alarm clock going off and she always, still drowsy, presses the snooze button to sleep just a few more minutes. By the third time she is up. She puts on her little pink slippers and still yawning makes her way to the bathroom to get changed. She comes back only to take her backpack and then she's off again. Then comes the waiting. It's the worst time of all. I feel so lonely then. I like to watch her sleep. Her chest rising regularly and her body shifting in her sleep. I can't imagine what she's dreaming about but I wish I could join her in that land the sandman takes her to every night.

Waiting is the worst. I can't talk to anybody, I don't see her. But then she comes back and my existence seems worthy again. It's the evenings I look forward to the most. During the afternoon she just spends most of the time out, but when the evening comes she slips under her sheets, takes me and starts speaking. She talks about everything she had been up to, all her plans and worries. Sometimes she practices dance and I watch her jump up and down repeating a routine to the music coming from her speakers. I see her trip and stand back up, sometimes crying but most of the time determined to master the dance.

But the thing I love the most about her is when she says my name, James, in that sweet, high-pitched voice of hers. And I always wish I could do the same.

o*o*o

The alarm clock beeped a few times and Tobey unconsciously turned it off. He turned curled up on the other side of the bed once more and returned to sleep. But of course he couldn't. There was something very unfamiliar about the beeping and he suddenly remembered what. He always had the radio set as his alarm. Without opening his eyes he thought about it and realised the sound hadn't come from his alarm clock.

He cursed and sat up on his bed. The sound came from, as expected, his phone. He displayed the message and it was as he expected from Torchwood.

'L8' he read. It took his sleepy head a few moments until he realised it mean _late. _He looked at the clock and indeed it was almost midday and the message had been sent two hours earlier. His immediate reaction was to hurry but his young, rioting heart wouldn't have it. He had come home at six a.m. after having caught a big alien, a _real _alien, and almost having his hand bit off by that thing called a Weevil. He needed at least a proper shower.

Afterwards, he dressed in his jeans and striped shirt which he quickly tucked into his trousers. Over it he pulled on a cardigan, one that wouldn't make him look too thin and left his flat grabbing just a small yoghurt from the fridge and hurried to catch the bus.

It was well past twelve when his bus stopped by the bay. At this point he had already came to the conclusion that there was no point in hurrying. The message only said _late_ and not _Torchwood_ which was the "secret" message for when something serious was really happening. He stopped by a cafe and ordered a coffee to wake him up. The red-haired girl by the counter glanced at his clothes with a scrutinising look before handing over the hot cup.

He was quite surprised to see a girl waiting on the bench by the information centre. She didn't come up to him at first but her gaze followed his every move. He decided to ignore it and at least try to act naturally. He pushed the handle and was ready to enter the building but when the door didn't budge he barely avoided hitting it with his forehead. His brow furrowed. This was unusual. Ianto generally didn't leave the post unless a third person was needed for a job. He searched his bag for the keys and opened the door closing it as fast as he could. Except he couldn't. The girl put her foot in the gap preventing him from doing so.

"Sorry, we're not open yet," Tobey said with a slight tremble to his voice. He was still not used to his new job.

"Wow, you really didn't sound too convinced," the girl said letting herself in. She was black and quite tall and pretty. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail. Her clothes were not exactly professional but they had a certain stern feeling to them. "Martha Jones," she introduced herself. "Temporary medical officer," she added seeing a glimmer of comprehension in his eyes.

"Oh, right!" Tobey's face lit up. "Jack said he might call you. I'm Tobey Magpie. Sorry for that, I'm still not used to..." he tried explaining himself but stopped halfway through. He felt resentment towards himself. All he did since joining was explain himself and his incapabilities. "Never mind," he said slightly less energetically as before.

He let Martha in through the hidden door and down the elevator to the Hub. He heard familiar sounds and the rustling of the computer equipment seemed to had carved itself into the silence.

"I heard you have had little work recently," Martha said looking around.

"That's what Jack says," Tobey smiled. "If catching these 'Weevils' is what he calls little work then I can only fear what 'busy' means to him."

"You'll get used to it, don't worry," she said with confidence.

"Do you want some coffee?" he asked glancing at his own cup. "I'm no Ianto but I think I can make a decent cup of coffee. Or tea if you prefer. I don't know where everybody went so I guess you will have to wait a few minutes for Jack."

"Don't worry about it. And tea is fine," Martha said and sat on the couch while Tobey rushed to the "ktichen" segment of the Hub to put on the electric kettle and prepare tea. He didn't see Ianto anywhere but he couldn't just wait for him to make it so he went along with the job.

He came back with his own cup and a mug of earl grey.

"Thanks..." Martha took the drink.

"I heard you too work with... you know..." Tobey started a conversation but somehow the word he was looking for to finish the sentence stuck inside his throat.

"Aliens?" the casualty of her tone surprised him and reminded of how different the world he stepped into was. He felt a surge of embarrassment and the warmness in his cheeks told him he was blushing. "Yes, I'm working freelance now, but I used to work with UNIT and for some time with Torchwood too. What about you?"

"Oh, I worked with the police for some time," he glanced up from his coffee and saw an expectant look on Martha's face. "In IT. I was assigned to upgrade the system and firewalls. I learned about Torchwood because of that."

"I thought they deleted their files..." Martha interrupted him.

"Yes, they did. Probably a million times already. What I meant to say that they kept breaking into the system despite my trying to stop them every time. Well never mind that, it was really frustrating."

"I can imagine. Tosh was a pro at her job."

"I did some digging into it but little came out of it. Until a few days ago anyways."

Martha glanced at his desk. There were no photographs or trinkets that would characterise him. She remembered that even Tosh kept a photo attached to her monitor screen.

"Have you got anybody you like?" she asked a bit concerned.

Tobey blushed but not because there was anybody. He was very rarely in a situation where he was to discuss his love life. "I'm not good in relationships," he lied nervously.

"It's good for this job," Martha said. "To have someone to remind you of what's really important."

Tobey glanced at her surprised.

"Jack will probably tell you otherwise but if you find someone, don't listen to him. Nothing good ever comes from completely immersing yourself in work."

The man blushed and turned his head down catching a glance of the ring on Martha's finger.

The metal gear door opened and Jack and Ianto entered the Hub. Martha stood up with a smile.

"Well if it isn't Martha Jones!" he said skipping down the steps to greet her. "Thanks for coming on such short notice. I thought you'd be here tomorrow to be honest."

"I managed to get everything done earlier," Martha explained still smiling. She glanced at Ianto from above Jack's shoulder. "He doesn't look so bad. From how you explained it it seemed-"

Jack cut in.

"Let's not delve into that right now," he said. He turned around to introduce Martha to Ianto. The woman saw a tiny glimmer of hope in his eye and a furrow of eyebrows when he met with disappointment. "This is Martha Jones," he said and Ianto put out his hand to shake hers.

"Ianto Jones," he said.

Martha smiled shaking his hand.

There was a moment of silence nobody knowing if they should proceed with what they were doing or not.

"Right, you two probably have a lot to catch up to and I have a few things to do so..." Ianto said breaking the awkwardness.

Tobey took this chance to get on with his own work and Martha and Jack disappeared in his office. Martha glanced occasionally at Ianto who was heading towards the kitchen area to unpack the groceries he'd probably just bought. His face was filled with regret probably for letting Jack down. She couldn't help but admire the way he managed to smile with all that had happened to him.

She looked back at Jack who had just opened the door for her and entered the room with the Captain following her.

"You haven't told him anything have you?" she said with amazement.

"I prefer it this way..." Jack explained sitting behind his desk.

"Maybe if you told him he'd have his memories back..." Martha pondered.

"I can assure you that's not the case. He can remember normal things with some sort of memory stimulant but things that he thought were more important to him are a mystery."

"And you want me to help you figure out what happened to him?" Martha asked.

"No, I want you to find out if he's going to die," Jack said bluntly. "He was dead the last I saw him and I don't want him to return that state again. I highly doubt it will be a reoccurring thing."

"Like with you?"

The silence was a definite _yes_.

"I'll do my best," Martha smiled seeing how his emotions were leaking through the cracks of his stern mask.

A loud alarm brought them to their feet. Jack looked outside to see Ianto fighting with the stain made from the coffee he had accidentally dropped startled by the loud sound. On the ground floor was Tobey typing sequences of codes. The movement of his fingers was steady but his face looked like he was panicing. After a short moment the Hub became silent again and Jack was staring intensely at the new recruit.

"Let me just say that it's not my fault!" Tobey said immediately. "Honestly! I think miss Sato set some kind of alarm for when a powerful energy outbursts appear."

"Look into it! I'll be back in fifteen minutes. I want to know everything there is to know about this."

Jack stormed out of the Hub leaving Tobey dumbstruck.

o*o*o

Gwen shivered slightly. Her leather jacket was warm but it still wasn't enough against the strong chilly wing. She had been waiting for some time already and was wondering why nobody was showing up yet. It wasn't the same as when she first found out about them. She highly doubted that Jack and the rest were making fun of her again.

She sighed with relief seeing the familiar silhouette of the man in the military jacket.

"You know I don't approve of this, don't you Gwen?" Jack said firmly. The letter he received from Zoe saying they were both in danger still echoed in his head.

"You're not exactly the first person I would ask for advice on this, you know?"

Jack remained silent waiting for her to continue. As stubborn as he could sometimes be he knew that he was a bit selfish as well.

"I want to work for you again," Gwen said. "Part time at least. He was in danger. I cannot accept that happening again. If I cannot protect him by staying away from trouble then let me protect him like this. And let's be honest, you need me. Tobey is still a rookie, nowhere near half as good as Tosh and with Ianto stuck in the office you will need a some help in the field."

"Tobey is showing potential and Ianto is as great as ever," Jack said rebuffing Gwen's arguments. "And I called in two more than capable members for now."

"Martha's coming over?" Gwen asked guessing the first of the two new recruits.

"Martha is already here and Lois will probably be joining us soon. I think these two will be more than capable."

Gwen didn't know what to say. Jack didn't give her time to sort out her thoughts. He smiled. "But there's nobody who could ever replace you. A place for you will always be available in Torchwood."

Gwen smiled at seeing how Jack had wanted to trick her into worrying.

"How are things?" he asked kindly when they were returning side by side to the Hub.

She giggled remembering how only a few months ago she could tell him anything on a stroll like this. "It's fine, you know. My life is fine. I figured everything out eventually. But I guess I don't want my life to be in harmony just yet."

o*o*o

Tobey took a deep breath. He was nervous as he had little idea about how exactly he should've concluded in his report. "The good news is... It's not a giant power surge," he said relating to the what he told Jack previously.

"If so, then why did Tosh's alarm go off?" Jack asked.

"That's where it gets complicated," Tobey pressed a button and on the screen behind him a map appeared. There were over twenty red points marked in different districts of Cardiff. "There are twenty-seven signals being sent from all around Cardiff resulting in a joint transmission that triggered the alarm. I think it's some kind of information transferred. Into space. The signal is sent from twenty seven households and from information on the previous outbursts it should last roughly 65 and a half hours."

"Previous outbursts?" Jack repeated.

"Yes, I was surprised as well. It turns out that this sort of signal was sent a few times before. I crossed referenced the dates and it turns out that you were away from Cardiff at that time or busy with a bigger project hence Torchwood didn't notice the previous ones."

"Have you got the addresses of the destinations?" Jack asked.

"Yup they're all here," he passed a folder. "But there's on more thing," he added when everybody was busy searching the list. Gwen found one of the addresses dangerously close to her current home. Jack looked up from the file and raised his eyebrow. "One of the signals is being cancelled. And I'm not sure if that's a bad thing or not. It's also the only one that seems to be moving."

"OK, Gwen can I count on you to check that one - I'll take Tobey and check the closest points to see what we're dealing with," Jack gave out instructions. "And Martha, can I count on you?"

Martha smiled reassuringly but Jack was already picking up the list of addresses and heading out. Tobey followed finding it hard to keep pace with him. However only Gwen headed out immediately. To Tobey's surprise he and Jack first headed into the lower levels of the Hub, where he had never been before.

After the first few hundred meters Tobey lost track of how to get back to the Hub too distracted by the sight of the new section. The architecture wasn't much different from the higher levels but there was an ominous feeling to it. The section was also older than the levels above. He had heard about the explosion and it was probably the thing that could be blamed for the difference. The upper levels were destroyed but the lower ones remained unscathed. Reconstruction however precise could never equal the original.

They entered a wide room which sent a shiver down Tobey's spine. Not because of the size but because of what was on one of the walls. It was a wide collection of guns, some of which were clearly too modern to be of his time and some were clearly dating long before his birth.

"As much as I wanted to postpone this you could need a proper weapon today," Jack said. He took one gun from the wall and gave it to Tobey. He was surprised by the weight of it. He almost didn't hear his next words: "Is this fine?"

Tobey nodded mesmerized. Would he need to use it? Would he need to use it against another human being? The idea alone made him feel nauseated. He looked up and tried to ignore the paleness of his own face. He watched as Jack explained how to reload and use to weapon but didn't hear his words too concentrated on thinking if he was the right choice for this position.

"Do you understand?" Jack asked.

"Yes," Tobey said answering a different question then asked.

o*o*o

"Jack asked you to do this?" Ianto asked Martha. He was sitting on the operation table with his shirt unbuttoned and sleeves rolled up. His skin was pale with little color and he was so thin Martha could easily count his ribs.

"Yes, and I am glad I agreed," Martha said preparing the vial in which she was about to store his blood for tests. Ianto quickly clenched his fist for ease Martha finding his arteries. "I suggested an MRI but Jack clearly wanted to avoid it," Martha continued. "He keeps saying that whatever has happened to your memories is most likely to be artificial damage."

"Then why all this?" Ianto asked, barely paying any attention to the needle stuck in his arm.

"Because if you get hit too hard you'll break," Martha explained with a weak smile. "I don't need to do any tests to see that," she pointed at his hands. "Your fingernails are purple even though it's quite warm and you have white spots suggesting calcium deficiency. You are so thin I can see your bones and your eyes are red which can mean a lot of things but most importantly I think that you're just not sleeping well."

Ianto couldn't answer. She was after all right. He was so absorbed in searching the archives to find his old persona that he often forgot about the most important things. He felt Martha touch his hand gently. Her hand felt very warm although he knew it was probably of normal temperature.

"You should really take care of yourself right now," she said. "And don't worry, I'll help you with that."

Martha smiled and they looked at each other for a few moments. Long enough to confirm that they were good friends despite Ianto's loss of memories.

"How are you with exercise?" Martha continued the examination.

Ianto hesitated. "It's tiring," he said. "It's worse than you can imagine. Running is hard."

"You still do it though," Martha noticed.

"I can't be useless."

"And you're not," Martha reached for the stethoscope and measured the heart beat. "Well I can imagine why you feel like that. You have an arrhythmia. Not a serious one but it can disturb your body processes."

"Will it be a big problem?" Ianto asked concerned.

"It shouldn't be but that's probably part of the reason why you're so tired. The other one would be malnutrition."

Martha put away her medical equipment and smiled at Ianto. "That will be all," she said.

Ianto glanced at her suspiciously. "No more tests?"

"Well for one thing I think it's a miracle that you're alive and functioning like a normal human being. And Jack said that there's something keeping you alive at least for now. I reckon if something was going wrong you wouldn't be sitting here right now. I don't think medicine would be appropriate either. I don't want to risk any unwanted reactions. I think you'll be fine with a proper diet, lots of sleep and some vitamins."

Ianto tried smiling but the smile turned out to be a lot more grim than usual. "What do you think is the cause for my memories?" he asked.

"I think Jack knows a lot more about that. He said it's certainly not retcon or a natural reason. And you were saying that you can only remember things that weren't valuable to you. That alone would make me consider artificial reasons rather than natural ones. Somebody wanted you to forget Torchwood. For various reasons."

Ianto was buttoning up his shirt thinking about what he had just heard. For some reason he had been suspecting somebody of doing so. Some instinct in his mind pointed him in a direction but when he reached for the memory all he saw was darkness. Martha was right. Somebody made him forget.

After putting on the rest of his suit with unusual speed and accuracy which he himself was surprised of he thanked Martha and went outside. He felt light-hearted despite his heavy breathing. He was thankful for Martha being so honest with him.

He resisted the urge to call Jack and ask him about instructions. He knew that both of them would regard that as foolish and it would resolve in nothing.

Instead, he decided to really take somebody's advice for once. He decided to relax and rest for a bit.

o*o*o

Gwen wasn't surprised to find Rhys waiting for her in the kitchen ready to snog her before she even properly entered the house. She was still pleased when it happened. Only recently has she really thought about how lucky she was. There were so many women disappointed with their husbands who forget the value of those little things.

"How was it?" he asked.

"Jack said OK," Gwen said trying to hide her excitement. She loved working for Torchwood and knew that especially with the baby Rhys wouldn't favour her decision. However, he would support it and she was glad he was so considerate about it. That was why she preferred not to show how glad she was to be working with Torchwood again.

Rhys grimaced for a short moment but quickly hid it behind a smile and took Gwen into his arms and kissed her again. "That's brilliant!" he said.

Gwen giggled. "You seem happy."

"Well Jack never skimped on your salary."

Gwen laughed as Rhys released her.

"But you won't work too much though, right Honey?" he asked with a bit of worry in his voice.

"No, I doubt Jack will give me too much work. Speaking of which, I have to go."

"But you just came here!" Rhys protested. "At least try the pasta. The world won't be saved if you starve to death."

Gwen laughed as always glad when he joked. Rhys wasn't the person to hide things behind a joke. He'd rather use it to brighten the atmosphere a little bit.

She kissed him goodbye and went out again. In her car she noticed a new text had arrived. 'Wait for a message before going in,' it read. She dismissed it and turned her Honda on. She knew as well as anyone else how time was important in this job.

* * *

><p>Hope you enjoyed this part :) Thanks to Ash-Varnei for beta-reading. Also a huge thank you for all your follows and favorites and kind reviews. It feels really rewarding knowing you enjoy my scribblings :)<p>

Next part probably out still during the weekend. Monday at the latest but I'll probably release it earlier so don't worry :)


	9. Episode 3: Part 2

After spending the whole day traveling back home here's the second part of A Different Kind of Heart. I'm thinking it's getting a bit weird... I hope it's a good thing... Anyways, enjoy I hope you like this story :)

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><p>Tobey felt very uncomfortable about the speed at which the SUV was cruising through the streets of Cardiff. Being occupied with changing the street lights helped but when he realised that despite his best efforts he was still too slow he felt his lungs trying to escape through his lips.<p>

However, when they stopped by the first house on the list he realised that the speed stopped being a problem. He forgot about it or got used to it somewhere along the way. He smiled to himself making sure that Jack wasn't looking. He wondered if everybody had these problems. Gwen was a policewoman before but the rest? How did they get used to all the extraordinary in this line of work? Did he even want to get used to it? He tried to deny it but he loved the fear and adrenaline when he met his "first aliens".

The building they stopped before was a small two-level house, same as every other one on the streets, made from red bricks, the entrance only a few feet from the pavement and a row of cars parked in front. There were no garages, though Tobey was sure that there was a small garden behind the house.

Jack was already out before Tobey even disconnected his laptop. He waited patiently and Tobey found himself hurrying but to his surprise he felt no stress. It was a nice difference to what he had been feeling since he had begun his work for Torchwood. He noticed that Jack was calm as well. He didn't hurry him. He knew many people who would do the exact opposite. He smiled despite himself seeing the motive behind his actions. Maybe he was giving him time to adjust?

Tobey got out of the car as soon as he had packed his computer away and followed Jack who had started walking as soon as he saw that Tobey was getting out.

The door opened just as Tobey arrived, Jack having already rung the bell.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked.

"I'm Captain Jack Harkness and this here is Officer Tobey Magpie. We're conducting an investigation and we need to search your house," Jack said bluntly. Tobey noticed that his tone of voice and confidence alone was enough to gain the woman's trust. He didn't even show a fake badge (although he suspected that fakes were not needed – Torchwood could definitely get real ones without any problems).

"Is something the matter?" the woman opened the door for them. "Did we do something wrong?"

"I don't believe so. There's every reason for us to believe that you did nothing wrong. However there is a possibility that you once brought here something that could be dangerous."

"Will you be going upstairs?" the woman asked a bit concerned.

"Is there something you're hiding there, ma'am?" Jack asked and Tobey was amazed at how easily he put so much suspicion into the sentence without the woman realizing it.

"Of course not, it's just, it's not so tidy there," the woman explained. "Please come inside," she said guiding them to the living room.

It was small but the furniture was arranged so that it was quite spacious. There was only one cabinet, a sofa and an armchair, a TV and a small coffee able in between of them. There were a few family photos hanging on the cream-coloured walls but little art.

"Shall I make tea?" she asked.

"That would be nice, thank you. Nothing ever brings a man up like a cup of tea made by a lovely lady," Jack said taking a seat. "Do you mind if my colleague checks a few details on his laptop?"

"No, of course not."

Tobey reached into his bag and took out his laptop.

"Can you pinpoint the exact location of the transmission," Jack asked as soon as the computer was turned on.

"I don't know how long it will take to load but I can try." He couldn't help the smile. He kept silent for a while to make sure that the woman wasn't coming. "You were totally flirting with a married woman just then," he whispered.

Jack smiled. "There was no ring," he said cheekily.

"I think the photos speak for themselves," Tobey smiled. He wanted to add something but the woman was already returning with a tray with tea and three cups. She poured the drink into all the cups.

"So, Mrs. Paver," Jack started and Tobey barely held back the smile when hearing the tone of his voice.

"Oh please, call me Margaret, Captain," the woman said. Her cheeks were rosy and she clearly enjoyed the attention she was getting.

"Do you live alone?" he asked. Tobey quickened his typing pace trying to focus more on his work rather than Jack's flirting.

"My kids have already left for college and as for my husband, he passed away a few years ago."

"Did anything unusual happen recently, let's say in the last three hours?" Jack returned to his questioning.

"Not really, just... Well I don't think that matters really but... It suddenly became cold. I had to turn up the heater and it's still quite chilly. I talked to Mr Davies from across the road and he said everything was fine there."

Tobey glanced at Jack and met his gaze. They were both thinking the same thing. He looked back at the screen to find the loading bar now complete and the satellite map showing Cardiff. He zoomed in. The red dot was blinking on the right side of it.

"It hasn't been the same since my husband passed away but a woman has to deal with trouble on her own sometimes."

"Jack," Tobey gladly interrupted. "It's right here," he said. "Exactly... over there?" he pointed at an empty spot on the ground.

"What room is in this same spot upstairs?" Jack asked standing up.

"That would be the kids room. But there's nothing there anymore. I just left that straw rabbit because they loved it so much."

Jack raised his brow suspiciously. He followed the woman upstairs while Tobey stayed downstairs packing his laptop. He was glad of being left alone, he preferred not to follow the two upstairs. Despite knowing it wasn't serious from Jack's side it still was a bit awkward for him being in the middle of all his flirting.

Jack came back down holding a straw rabbit dressed in a linen dress.

"Our job is done here, thank you for your co-operation," Jack said and left as quickly as he arrived.

"How do you know that it's the thing we're looking for?" Tobey asked. in front of the SUV. "It's just a rabbit after all..."

"Smell it," Jack said shoving the rabbit under his nose. It smelled of dust and straw.

"It's nice..." Tobey said confused, entering the vehicle.

"See? Everybody thinks they're 'nice'. Don't you think it's a bit suspicious? Look closer though..."

Tobey took the rabbit and looked into it's black, plastic eyes. "It's... a camera?" he said seeing the outlines of something inside them. "It's hot..." he added when the toy touched his

"Yes," Jack nodded. He had already started the SUV and now without paying almost any attention to the other cars was riding towards their next destination.

"Do you think they'll all be rabbits?" Tobey asked.

"I reckon so, yes."

"That's a bit silly..."

Jack didn't answer. "We'll go back to the Hub and I'll have you analyze the signal."

Tobey nodded. He smiled despite himself. The rabbit really seemed cute.

o*o*o

Gwen received the phone call when she was half way to the house with the second transmitter.

"Jack?" she said instinctively knowing it was him.

"Go back for now," Jack said. "The distorted signal is moving towards the city. We'll just stop by the Hub and leave Tobey there to analyse the transmission and then meet you where it stops. Tobey will keep you updated about its position. Gwen changed the direction and headed towards the town.

o*o*o

Jack stormed through the entrance only to meet the reprimanding gaze of Martha. She immediately pointed at the sleeping silhouette of Ianto on the couch.

"The more he sleeps, the better," she said.

Jack raised his brow. There was more to her words then simple medical advice and her eyes confirmed it.

She approached the sleeping man and gently took his arm and rolled up the sleeve on his left arm. Aside from it being a little too pale and skinny with every vein clearly visible there was nothing wrong about it. Martha pointed at the joint. There was nothing there.

"I punctured his skin there only an half hour ago and there's no mark," she concluded. "It seems that flesh wounds heal faster. A lot faster."

"What about the poison?" Jack asked.

"No sign of that either. From the blood sample it seems that aside from anaemia and serious vitamin deficiencies he's fine. I also checked his DNA, just to be sure and it is the same as the one registered for Ianto in the system. It's definitely Ianto and I think that now he just needs a good diet and some sleep and he will be fine."

Tobey entered the Hub making an awful lot of noise. Only after starting saying his stream of thoughts out loud did he realise that it wasn't the best course of action as both John and Martha were staring at him waiting for him to notice that it was time he stopped talking.

"Sorry..." he said. "The transmitter stopped at a public school in the eastern part of town. I sent the exact co-ordinates to Gwen.

"Fine, I want you to take out the transmitter and tell me what we're dealing with. Martha, are you done with your work?" Jack asked.

"I could go," a voice from behind them said. Ianto stared at them from his position on the couch.

"You're awake, great!" Jack said.

"It was hard not to wake up after hearing you all enter and rush around like that," Ianto smiled bitterly.

"OK, in that case Tobey, examine the transmitter, the top priority is to find out if it could be in any way lethal. Ianto, I want you to find out all you can about who produced these things and where they came from. Me and Martha will meet up with Gwen."

Jack stormed out of the Hub and Martha followed dashing to catch up with him.

"Can I see it for a minute?"

Tobey jumped startled. He turned around to see Ianto standing behind him with his hands in the pockets of his trousers. He gave the toy to him and watched him examine it from every angle.

"What are you looking for?" Tobey asked.

"There's no tag," Ianto said not even bothering to look away from his work. "I never expected it to be as easy as that though. Tell me if you find some sort of trademark."

Tobey took the rabbit back but glanced at Ianto once more only to get a reassuring smile from him. He returned to the toy and found himself staring at it for a few minutes not even realising what he was doing.

Tobey looked around and saw Ianto already at his desk. The sight of his comrade working put a grimace on his face. He felt very awkward and bad about cutting the toy up. He knew that it had something to do with the toy itself but he couldn't bring himself to open up his textile belly and let the plush guts spill out. It was just so cute.

It took him another few minutes of mindless staring to make himself reach for the scissors and even after that he didn't start at once. He looked once back at Ianto but he was already gone, probably searching the archives. He made himself some tea and then, with new determination returned to work.

The charm broke when he saw what was inside the toy. A set of wires, chips and microcomputers almost like real organs and veins. Tobey's face twisted with disgust. It wasn't ugly, in fact it created a beautiful harmony, but somehow he felt that just the idea of it was wrong. He couldn't put his thought into words.

He ignored his urge to leave it alone and tinkered with the wires and chips. With every move his eyebrows furrowed some more in confusion. There was something seriously illogical about this technology.

o*o*o

Martha and Jack left the car simultaneously. They saw Gwen approaching them with the same expression on her face as they had.

"How is a school involved in all this?" Martha asked although she already knew the answer. It was the same everywhere they went. Somehow whatever they did to protect them innocent people were always in danger.

"We'll just have to find out," Jack said and approached the door.

As soon as the three of them entered a receptionist lady stopped doing her work and stared at them with suspicion.

"Are you parents?" she asked although the answer was more than obvious just by looking at their clothing and posture.

"Torchwood," Jack said hoping the magic word would work.

It didn't. Torchwood was indeed known Cardiff-wide but most of the time just by the name and not the meaning.

"I'm afraid you can't go inside the building."

"What is your name again?" Jack asked giving her his most flirty smile. He leaned over her table and his face was suddenly very close to hers.

"Agnes," the woman said with a slight blush on her high cheeks.

"Right, Agnes. I'm afraid you will have to let me and my two friends pass as this is a matter of utmost security. One of the children inside is unaware that he or she has a very dangerous object. We just need to intercept it and we will be on our way."

"Should I sound the alarm?" the lady blinked twice confused by the situation. Her hand was already reaching for the phone probably to call the police.

"That won't be necessary. We have everything under control."

With that he went forward not awaiting a reply. Martha and Gwen followed him confidently.

"You could've just lied," Gwen noticed. "Although I suppose we don't know if there is a threat or not."

"We can never be sure if something is dangerous or not," Jack said philosophically.

Gwen smirked slightly, as always not expecting the answer Jack would give her.

Their footfalls echoed in the corridor but only when Jack started speaking loudly through the intercom that some of the classrooms fell quiet.

"Tobey, I need you to tell me where exactly is the transmitter," he said raising his voice automatically.

"It should be... third on the left on the second floor after you climb the stairs in the west wing," Tobey answered after a short break during which the only thing that could be heard was the sound of keys being typed. "If not you can try on a lower level but I'm fairly certain that it's there."

"Why is that?"

"I found the spot where the transmission started and it's in a house belonging to a certain Jeremy Anderson and his daughter attends the school. She should have her second period in the classroom on the second floor."

"Good work," Jack concluded disconnecting. He heard Tobey trying to say something more but decided to ignore it for now and contact him afterwards. If it were something important he would've told them in the beginning.

They reached the classroom quickly. Jack leaded but Gwen stopped him before opening the door.

"Let us handle it," she said and received an agreeing nod from Martha.

"What's wrong with me coming as well?" Jack asked a bit surprised.

"I just don't think that would be a good idea with your clothes and that..." she pointed at his holster.

"Fine."

Martha pressed the handle and gently pushed the door open.

o*o*o

"Damn it!" Tobey rested his head on his hands and hid his face in his palms.

"Is something wrong?" Ianto asked from behind of him.

Tobey turned around to see him wearing a white coat over his suit.

"Are you going somewhere?" he asked.

"I need to find out where those toys came from. There's nothing about this sort of thing in the archives or in any database. So I'm going to ask around. And somebody has to help intercept all of them. What about you? Did you find out anything?"

"Plenty to be honest," Tobey said but his voice didn't convey any pride or satisfaction. "Turns out there's a tiny bomb attached to each one. It can't be triggered from the outside but I thought Jack should know anyways. But he hung up on me! And that's not all. The huge transmission is just white noise. It's a decoy. There's another signal but it's being rerouted and it will take me some time to find the source. But I reckon it's in Cardiff."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Somehow it just seemed that all this is centred here. I searched other satellite information but it seems that these sort of spikes only appear in Cardiff. Not even near the borders of the city."

"Well this whole thing seems a bit suspicious," Ianto concluded. "I don't know why but it just seems too easy for some reason. Anyways, let me know when you're sure that it doesn't pose a threat. I'll get the police to handle the rest of them. Or is the transmission triggered from the outside?"

"No, it's all automatic. It's best if we just gather all of them shut them off and bury in the archives."

Ianto left not turning around. Once outside he took out a piece of paper with a telephone number and approached a phone booth. He hesitated for a few moments and in the end squeezed the note back into his pocket. He tried to get himself to call his sister after seeing her that one time but he didn't have the courage to face her again.

Instead he turned around to the nearest parking and found the Torchwood grey Honda. It wasn't the SUV but considering he was alone and didn't need any gadgets besides a GPS it was enough. He turned the engine on and heard the familiar jazz record playing. He smiled. He was probably the only one ever using this car.

o*o*o

Alice glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, right beside the door. Another thirty seven minutes until the end of the lesson. She sighed and looked back at the teacher. Her whole body stiffened as she realised that Mrs. Brown was looking at her. She quickly looked down at her notes avoiding the teacher's look. She jotted down a few words to convince her that she was paying attention.

After another moment she looked back up and with relief saw that the teacher was facing another direction. She glanced down at her backpack, now open and revealing a reassuring straw bunny's head. The rest of her toy was hidden in between her books and notebooks.

Alice looked back at the clock and saw movement behind the window of the door. Her eyes widened in fear. She heard voices which she didn't recognise as any of the teachers'. She couldn't understand what they were saying but something told her she was in trouble. She had no idea what she might've done wrong but that something inside of her alerted her.

"Alice?" she heard her teacher's voice. "Could you repeat what I just said?" she asked her.

Alice gulped. She knew didn't know. But that didn't seem like a problem compared to the figures outside the door.

"But Mrs. Brown," she said, her voice in high pitch from fear. She pointed at the door the exact moment it opened. She couldn't tell whether she was saved or doomed.

Two women entered. One was a tall black women, her hair tied behind her head. She had a red leather jacket on and jeans. The other one was shorter with loose black hair.

"We're sorry to interrupt but we just wanted to borrow miss Anderson for a second," the taller one said.

"We're from the police," the dark-haired woman added. "I can assure you that this is not a serious matter but I'm afraid that no delay is acceptable."

Alice glanced at the teacher and was immediately certain that this was going to get her in trouble.

"Of course," Mrs Brown said. "Alice."

Alice stepped outside the classroom with the two women. The taller one closed the door on kneeled in front of her, her hands on Alice's shoulders making the girl feel very uncomfortable.

"I didn't do anything," Alice said immediately.

"I'm not saying you did," the woman's voice was quiet. She probably didn't want the class to hear it. From the sounds coming from the classroom one could easily deduce that everybody tried to get even a tiny bit of the conversation. "My name is Martha, this is Gwen and that man over there is Captain Jack. This may sound silly but do you have some kind of a toy with you?"

Alice's face went pale. "James did nothing wrong," she said. She blushed immediately realising how daft she must be sounding. Bringing toys to school at her age and naming moreover naming them. But James was somehow special. Although he was just a toy Alice often felt as if he was listening to everything she said. And she knew that he really did have a soul.

"I know but we just need to borrow him for a while," Martha insisted. "We will give him back as soon as we can."

She glanced briefly at the Captain. He gave her and mostly the girl a reassuring smile.

Alice swallowed her pride and went back into the classroom. Everyone fell suddenly silent despite whispering not minutes ago. Alice shuffled her feet towards her desk and took out her toy. Her face showed signs of misery and fear. She glanced at her teacher. She saw that slight twitch of the index finger that indicated she was angry.

Alice went back outside and gave the toy to Martha. Her face filled with hope. "Can you take me with you?" she asked desperate. "I don't want to leave him alone..." Somehow anything felt better than spending another thirty minutes with Mrs Brown who although most of the time was nice like all people had bad days. And she hated troublemakers beyond reason.

"No," Jack's voice was firm and met no denial. He started walking away not even glancing at his comrades certain that they would follow him.

"Goodbye Alice," Martha said patting her shoulder again. "James will be back with you safe and sound soon."

The girl watched the three figures disappear behind a corner and hesitated before going back to class. It was the teacher calling her that finally made her return to her seat.

* * *

><p>So... weirdevil bunnies conquer the world? Not exactly but quite close. There's a story behind this one. Actually I have a straw bunny like that and he's called James and yes he wears a dress. He originally wore one I just named him James. If anybody's interested it's after Smashing Pumpkin's guitarist James Iha after he wore a dress in the video for Today :)

Part 3 soonish. Have to work on it a bit... Got a few bits and pieces to adjust.


	10. Episode 3: Part 3

Ianto checked once more the number on his list of places where the transmission had been spotted and confirmed it with the house he stopped by. It was the third one, the first two being empty.

"Hello, I'm Ianto Jones," he introduced himself when the door was open by a sick-looking middle-aged man. "I'm with the Health Department and we're investigating a product that has been released without having it previously undergo all the necessary tests. We believe that it may be toxic."

The man looked at him with a seed of irony hiding on his face. "Right," he said with spite. "Come in."

o*o*o

Tobey turned around the moment he heard Jack and Martha come in.

"How'd it go?" he asked.

"We have a new assignment for you," Jack said throwing him the toy. Tobey caught it but not without showing some concern. "Is something the matter?"

"There are bombs in these things," Tobey explained. "They aren't triggered that easily. I guess only when you try to destroy them. Easy to defuse though."

Jack raised his brow. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"The technology in this thing is mixed up. Everything is top notch - I've never seen anything like this ever before. Chips storing terabytes of memory, long lasting batteries and on top of that great quality lenses. And to top it all of a simple detonation system from the end of last century. It seems like everything is out of this time. Even the elements from the future seem like they've been made years apart. I mean I'm no expert but they're all different."

"It's too big a coincident that somebody got their hands on the necessary parts only thanks to luck," Jack noticed. "And in quantities big enough for dozens of these little _toys_."

A beeping interrupted his chain of thoughts. It came from the technician's computer.

"I've got it," Tobey said turning towards his machine. He smiled typing several key sequences to receive a street and number of an apartment. He printed all the available information about it and gave it to Jack. "The signal is rerouted here," he said. A smile of satisfaction appeared on his face. He knew this wasn't enough to convince everyone of his usefulness but it was the first step in becoming irreplaceable in Torchwood.

o*o*o

Ianto walked down the road getting further and further from his car. He needed to get back to the Hub but there were a few phone calls he should make before. He decided to call Jack first.

"Somebody put them out on the Cardiff Market apparently," he said when Jack answered. "Nobody knows who it was or where he came from. It's a dead end if we want to follow through to the manufacturer."

After hearing the instructions to wait for a call back and head to the Hub for now he put his cell phone back in his pocket. He didn't get back to his car immediately. First he needed to find a phone booth.

There was one behind the corner. He went inside but before he could even find the change the phone rang. Ianto looked around but the street was empty.

With a bit of hesitation he picked up the earpiece. "Hello?" he said.

There was a whicker on the other side. "Hello Ianto," the person said.

His voice sounded sinister but although Ianto was certain that he knew him he himself was more than sure he had never heard him before. "How can I help you?" he asked with precaution.

"Oh you can help me all right. Tell Jack something. Tell him that this is only the beginning. I won't stop only at this. More people will die and I will make his life a living hell. However long it takes I will prove my point."

The caller hung up leaving Ianto dumbstruck with the phone in his hand. It took his mind a moment to realise what he had heard but his hands were already moving dialling three zeroes.

"This telephone is currently off-line," the speaker said and repeated that same sentence until Ianto hung up. He tried the mobile but he found that his services had been cut off.

Ianto fell sweat running down his neck. He couldn't contact anybody like this. He ran back to his car stopping a man on the way there only to find that his mobile phone contract had been terminated as well. He had no doubt about it. Somebody was preventing him from calling Jack and the rest of Torchwood. He tried figuring out their objectives but somehow only one thought was popping to his mind: fun?

o*o*o

"He's not answering," Jack said hanging up nervously.

"There must be a good reason for it," Martha stepped forward trying to comfort the Captain.

"There's no time though. We can't wait for him. You're going with me, Martha, and Tobey, keep track of the signal. Hack into the CCTV, make sure nobody gets in or out of that building. And let me know the moment you hear from Ianto."

Tobey turned back to his desk and turned on his earpiece. It wasn't long before he heard the loud sound of the Hub mechanic door shutting itself after Martha and Jack.

He tried calling Ianto again, just in case. He decided to get over with his work first putting on his desktop all the possible CCTV angles on the building to where the transmission was being transferred. Then, he decided to find the cause of the transmission jam in the second toy. He cut it open to find it to be quite distinct from the regular toy he had cut up before. It seemed like "playing" with it was going to be a lot more interesting than with the first one he'd analyse.

o*o*o

Andy took a sip of his coffee and glanced at his partner. After he had returned to work as a normal police officer he had been assigned a new partner who, although was a very good talker, wasn't that big a listener. Ed could ramble literally for hours. Work with him became much less bearable. There was, however, one thing that kept Andy from giving up this line of work. A quite reliable source had told him that there was a possible promotion coming up for him. He did realise that a certain secret organisation might have had something to do with it but he tried to ignore it and think about in a good perspective.

His cell phone rang, the buzzing startling him and finally putting an end to Ed's elaborate speech about yesterday's lunch. With a bit of hesitance he took it out of his pocket. The screen had no intention of telling him who the caller was. Instead in an arial font the screen read "Withheld".

He sighed knowing exactly who was calling him. "Gwen?" he said after pressing the green button and putting the phone to his ear.

"Can I ask you a favour?" her voice said.

"You or Torchwood?" Andy asked immediately. Somehow _Torchwood_ favours were the only favours she had been asking from him in a long time. The silence on the other side was enough an answer for him.

"Could you collect a few things for us?" Gwen asked trying her nicest voice.

Andy only sighed in reply but for Gwen that was enough of an answer as well.

o*o*o

Gwen put down her phone and glanced at Rhys.

"Evil Rabbit Toys?" he mocked her.

"It does sound funny if you put it that way..." Gwen agreed with a slight smile.

"Well, I have to say, I'm glad you don't endanger yourself as much," Rhys said preparing dinner. Gwen was always amazed at his kitchen skills. If it weren't for her husband she would probably have take-out almost everyday.

"I miss the excitement though," Gwen confessed.

"I wouldn't worry about that too much," Rhys said. "Knowing Torchwood you'll get involved in something bigger sooner or later. I just hope it will be later rather than sooner. Or never to be honest," Rhys' voice was bitter and with a hint of sarcasm in it.

"Rhys..."

"I'm just saying," Rhys defended himself. "If you involve yourself too much in that mess, well, I'm just scared that something might happen to little Alex."

"Except, if I don't do anything who'll protect him?" Gwen continued and regretted her words immediately. Her words were driven by emotions and she knew that this was going to become an argument.

"Does he even need protecting? Right now all he needs is his mother to take care of him!"

"It won't be enough one day! I have seen what is out there! I know how dangerous this world can be!"

Gwen left the kitchen deciding it was the best course of action to prevent further fighting. She took out her phone and tried dialling Jack. She needed somebody to tell her that she was right in what she was doing.

Her phone was cut off. She tried again with her home number but that turned out to be unavailable as well.

"Rhys, can I borrow your mobile?" she asked her husband already forgetting about their argument..

His didn't work either. She had an eerie feeling she couldn't explain. She checked up on Alex. The boy was playing calmly in his bed.

Despite her doubts Gwen decided to leave it till morning. She hoped that everything would all be all right until then.

o*o*o

Jack pulled up in front of a high, run-down office building which by the looks of it had not been used in a long time. The paint was coming off in plasters and the walls had apparently become a canvas for the local graffiti artists. Lights were flickering in some windows but generally the building was dark inside.

The two stepped out of the car surprised at the way such a building composed itself into the panorama of the Cardiff city and became invisible to ones who wouldn't wish to see it.

"Third floor, back door," Jack instructed and Martha nodded. She disappeared behind the corner and Jack pulling his Webley revolver out went inside. The corridor was lit but some of the lights were flickering or completely broken. There were no visible cameras which reassured Jack a little. There was a lift and a staircase in the building. Jack decided not to trust the electricity in the building. He hoped Martha wouldn't either.

He took out the blueprints Tobey had printed out for him and found the room to which the signal was being transmitted. There was the number 305 attached on it. He looked around and saw Martha running silently towards him.

"Clear," she said silently signalling the message with her hands. She too had a pistol in her hands and was cautiously proceeding towards the door.

Giving Martha a sign to stay behind, he barged through the door.

o*o*o

Jeremy was generally an honest man. He had a wife, two children and a badly paid job. He tried to decline the offer of temporary work at first but when the thousand pounds were magically transferred to his account he felt like he had no choice but to do it.

It had all started after a very uncomfortable situation when he couldn't pay for the groceries when his credit card had been suspended and he had no other means of paying for his shopping. He remembered the look on the ladies face full of contempt and annoyance. He left the shop abashed and kept the promise he had made to himself about never again going inside.

A man had contacted him later that very afternoon and proposed a temporary job(either 'proposed temporary work' or proposed a temporary job') helping him sell a few products on the market. The whole job didn't seem as suspicious as the payment he was ready to give him. Three thousand pounds for selling thirty toys, another grand as provision before he started and two if he sold them all. In total six thousand pounds for a few hours work as he later discovered.

He told the man that he would consider it but once the money was already on his account he felt he should do the job. Especially since Easter was coming up and he couldn't even afford a proper breakfast for his family. Not to mention chocolates and presents. He agreed in the end and sold all the rabbit toys in just one afternoon. The money saved him a lot of trouble and was a godsend at that time.

He thought that it would end with that but it later turned out that he was wrong. Another few months later he received another phone call from that same man. His initial plan to decline failed again. This time he wasn't bribed into working. He was threatened. His family was at stake if he failed to meet the demands of his employer whose name he didn't even know.

In the new work he was to burn dozens of DVDs with material he was prohibited of seeing. Every few months he was called to a building and was only to supervise the burning of the discs. Afterwards he was given an address where he was to deliver the discs and the money magically appeared on his account.

He knew perfectly well that there was something illegal about what he was doing and whenever he was in that empty room with only half a dozen of computers, a chair and a pile of empty discs he felt like something bad was happening that very moment.

The instalments were growing with each assignment. At one point he thought if he could leave his job as a builder but decided not to rely on something as dangerous as this weird part time job.

Jeremy looked out the window and saw it was already getting dark. He thought about returning to this place again the next morning. He really didn't think it that good. Yes, he almost did nothing in this job but he never liked shady business and this was without a doubt suspicious.

He often wondered, when would something go wrong? That thought popped into his head every half an hour or so.

A man breaking into the room forced his pondering to stop at once.

"Put your hands in the air and don't move!" he said pointing a gun at him.

Jeremy immediately obeyed, at the same time turning around in his office chair to face his attacker. The gun was pointed right at his forehead. He gulped, wondering how he had gotten himself in this situation. He fought with nausea, his head felt both empty and full of rocks at the same time. He was hot, but at the same time was perspiring more than ever and extremely cold because of it. A small part of his mind was making bets whether he would lose consciousness or not. In the end he didn't, but he also couldn't open his mouth to say anything: his breath stuck deep in his throat allowing him only to breathe shallowly as if he was losing air to breathe with.

"I didn't do anything," he finally managed to say, his voice fluctuating between high pitch and his normal tone.

The man lowered his gun but didn't hide it. A woman came in after him. They looked at him expectantly. They were obviously trying to get him to tell them what he was doing.

Jeremy hesitated. They had the look of authority on their faces but at the same time he couldn't help but doubt they were from the police, army or any other government organisation. He thought about his family. He never wondered if the place was bugged. Now he was confused whether he could or couldn't tell those people his purpose in being in this building. He really wanted to but had no guarantee that they would protect him and his family if that man wanted revenge on him. He looked from the man to the woman and then back to the man again. Moments seemed like eternity. He noticed the man starting to raise his weapon again. It was a slow movement, barely visible but the adrenaline rush strengthened Jeremy's senses. He knew he had two choices: tell them what they wanted to know or be threatened again. He took a deep breath to clear his mind.

His phone alarm went off. He received a text. His face went pale.

The man approached him his gun raised to his face. Jeremy could feel his heart thumping against his chest as if it were to stop any second now. This really was too much for him. He closed his eyes tightly expecting a shot.

o*o*o

Ianto breathed heavily in the car. He had sprinted a total distance of two blocks and was exhausted. Once again his condition was a problem. He felt his consciousness slipping away, his body too tired to keep him awake. He forced himself to stay conscious. He turned on the radio and jazz tunes filled the car.

He took a deep breath and started the engine. With agility he had never expected from himself he drove onto the street. He drove towards the city centre trying to get to the Hub as quick as possible. Somebody was jamming all his lines disabling him contact with the Hub.

The "quick" he expected failed immediately. He had to wait for a long time at every possible lights. He knew immediately whose fault it was. It was too big a coincidence. He was waiting at the end of a line when his phone rang.

Ianto glanced at the screen. The screen reflected a number of numbers Ianto didn't know. His instinct told him it was either a public phone or a borrowed one. He answered it with one hand the other one still holding the steering wheel.

"I thought I'd tell you," the speaker said. "The first one is on Portmanmoor Road. I'd advise you to hurry up."

The man hung up in a feat of chuckling. Ianto didn't need to check to know that his mobile was off again.

Ianto waged his odds. It was closer. And the line of cars in front of him didn't look like it was going to become suddenly smaller. He turned around to look for an alternate road to get to the spot as fast as he could.

o*o*o

Jack took out the man's cell phone and looked at the screen. One new message. With the gun still pointed at the man he threw the mobile to Martha. She caught it and read the message out loud.

"Tomorrow at noon on Portmanmoor Road. There'll be a man waiting to pick up the packages."

"What packages!" Jack interrogated him. "Who do you work with!"

The man was pale and nervous. "I don't know who he is!," he said. "I'm just delivering these DVDs! I don't know anything. I swear I'm telling the truth!"

The man almost cried in front of them. Jack looked at him with a look that demanded more information.

"He contacts me," the man continued. "I had no choice but to do what he says! He said he'd hurt my family! I really don't want any trouble!"

Jack smiled. "Sorry, but you are going to be in a bit trouble anyway..."


	11. Episode 3: Part 4

Tobey was amazed at the technology in the second rabbit. It was so different from the first one. First, it was all made in one time. The elements seemed to be in a great harmony together. After some analysis he could easily tell it was a miniature computer unlike the other ones. He couldn't discover what could be the thing jamming the signal but since it was still being intercepted it he figured that it had to be inside. And the only thing left to check was that tiny computer inside. He had already connected it to his laptop but the algorithms were quite long and complicated and moreover not compatible with his software.

He didn't notice when the cog-wheel entrance opened and Martha and Jack entered dragging a man with them. He looked very average: short haircut, neither tall nor short, his face unrecognisable in the street.

"Any news from Ianto?" Jack asked finally getting through to Tobey.

"Nope, nothing," the man answered. "I tried calling again a few times but he either turned his cell phone off or there's something wrong with his connection."

"Drop anything you're doing right now, we need to find him," Jack ordered.

"I almost got it though," Tobey protested.

"Got what?"

"This one is different," Tobey explained. "It has a computer inside though I can't get through to the files."

"That's James!" the captured man said walking towards the desk. Up until now he had been amazed with this place hidden underneath Cardiff but now something else took over him. "That's my daughter's toy! Why do you have it?"

"An apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Jack said. "Care to explain Mr Anderson?"

"I took one for my daughter," the man explained. "I didn't know it would be bad. When I looked at it I knew that Alice would love it. How come you have it?"

"Why is he here?" Tobey asked, turning around. He couldn't help but feel annoyed with the conversation taking place above his head when he was trying to work.

"He's the one who'll lead us to the person responsible," Jack explained. "You said so already that this isn't exactly twenty-first century technology."

"No, I said it's not technology from our times, I said nothing about the twenty-first century," Tobey raised his brow, suspicious.

"Anyway, whoever that person is we need to find him and find out what he's doing with all this technology," Jack avoided the subject. "That's our top priority. Second is finding Ianto. He couldn't have just disappeared off the face of the Earth."

"Wait a second, what are you people talking about?" Jeremy cut in. "What is this technology-talk anyway."

"You better call your precious family and tell them you're not going home tonight." Jack once again changed the subject.

"What do you mean? You won't let me out!" Jeremy was once again panicking.

"Can't have you going to the enemy," Jack explained casually. "It's just easier to have you here."

"What do you mean? Where will I sleep? I need to sleep. And eat," Jeremy started speaking the first thoughts that came into his mind without thinking. It was enough a problem that he got involved in it all and that his daughter was somehow connected as well.

"Oh, I don't think that'll be the problem," Jack answered. "There's plenty of room in the lower level. I think that you will be satisfied, come with me."

Tobey was amazed with how well Jack played the situation out. The man wasn't even in the slightest bit aware where Jack was leading him.

He glanced at Martha who was approaching him to see what he was working on. Her face changed though when she looked at his computer screen. Tobey followed her gaze.

"What is that?" she asked coming closer.

They were both looking at Tobey's laptop screen and the words that were now forming themselves on a black screen. The interface disappeared and was replaced with letters.

"DON'T TAKE ME AWAY FROM ALICE," the letters said. "I ONLY TRIED TO PROTECT HER."

Tobey stared at his screen unable to utter a single word. Martha had a lot more experience in dealing with these matters.

"Protect her from what?" she asked wondering whether she should write it as well.

"THE MAN WHO SELLS INFORMATION."

Tobey watched amazed as the letters formed and changed until the right words were formed. The initial message was so different from the one at the end, as if the computer was still learning the language.

"Information about what?" Martha continued asking.

"RANDOM PEOPLE. THEY'RE EVERYDAY LIFE, STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES."

"Who is behind all this?"

"That's what I'd like to know as well," Jack said from behind their backs.

"Already done?" Martha asked surprised to see him up so quickly.

"Yeah, a bit of sedative and there was no problem," Jack smiled. "What have we got here?"

"We're speaking with this bunny here," Tobey said still half believing in what was happening.

"MY NAME IS JAMES," the computer wrote for the first time without any initial mistakes.

"OK, James," Jack took the initiative. "Tell us what exactly is happening and why are you trapped in this toy? And who exactly is behind this whole scheme?"

"WE WERE MADE TO RECORD AND TRANSFER VIDEOS OF PEOPLE TO THAT MAN SO HE COULD SELL THEM. I DON'T KNOW WHO HE IS. I TRIED TO STOP THE TRANSFER BUT FAILED."

"So, we reached a dead end once again," Jack said bitterly. "I guess we will have to wait till tomorrow morning to see where it takes us."

An awkward silence followed.

"I'll find Ianto," Tobey said, turning to back to his workplace.

"Right, Martha, I'll need you tomorrow at seven o'clock sharp. If anything happens meet us at nine on Portmanmoor Road," Jack added, seeing how so many things were going wrong. Ianto disappearing from the face of the earth seemed just too suspicious. He'd rather take all possible precautions than regret later.

Martha nodded. She smiled reassuringly at Jack. "We'll find him, don't worry," she said to him on the side, making sure that Tobey wasn't listening.

o*o*o

Ianto finally reached Portmanmoor Road and parked on the nearest empty parking slot. It was already the middle of the night and he wondered, how was it even possible to take so long to get anywhere in Cardiff? He left the car and looked around. There were a few people walking down the road but nobody seemed really suspicious. He tried his phone again only to once more find his services to be suspended.

He walked up and down the road a few times trying desperately to find anything that would give him a clue as to what was going to happen and how to stop it. He knew he was quite daft to be going alone but what if it was too late before he got back here with the rest of the team?

His phone rang. He answered it without looking at the screen.

"You might want to turn around," the voice said.

Ianto did so and found himself face to face with an elderly woman with groceries in her right hand. Confused he stopped blocking her way. He turned around once more. Now he was sure he was being watched.

"What are you trying to do?" Ianto asked nervously looking around.

"You should've helped the lady, Ianto," the man said. "And you call yourself a gentleman?"

Ianto didn't answer.

"Or maybe you just _forgot how _to be one?" the voice continued.

Ianto froze. His breath once more became shallow. This person knew about him. There was something seriously wrong going on. How would he know about all this? How could he jam his connections?

"Oh, so you know what I'm talking about," the man said. "For a second there I thought I was out of time a bit."

"What do you want?" Ianto asked.

The man's voice changed. It was now full of anger and contempt. And moreover it wasn't disturbed by static as usual in a phone call. "Revenge," the man said from behind him.

Ianto was too slow to turn around but before he even shifted just a little the man pushed a handkerchief to his face. He felt his consciousness drift away. He noticed that the street was suddenly empty.

The man's voice rumbled in his head, his words being the last sounds he heard before blacking out.

"I'll show you what it means to lose everyone and everything you ever cared for," the man said with rage disturbing his voice making it peak and sound like he was about to cry.

o*o*o

"Tobey!" Jack greeted the programmer, waking him up from his deep sleep.

Tobey raised his head and found himself splayed out on his own table pressing a combination of keys on his laptop with his elbow. His computer was reacting with a repeated error sound until he finally lifted his arms.

"What time is it?" he asked, unsure when he had fallen asleep.

"Five past seven, I can't contact Martha," Jack said bitterly.

The memories of last night quickly flooded his mind. "Oh God, Ianto!" he said remembering.

"Did you find him?" Jack said.

"No, I checked all the footage from yesterday and there was no sign of Ianto on any of the cameras. There were however unusual street light problems and a lot of deleted CCTV footage."

"It was all planned?" Jack asked.

"Probably so."

"Can you get any pattern from the deleted footage?"

"No, I already checked. It was all random. What do we do now?"

"There's no change in the plan. We go in half an hour earlier and wait for those people to appear. We use Jeremy as a decoy and get them."

"Do you think he's going to comply with you?" Tobey asked with a bit of sarcasm. He himself doubted it very much.

"He won't have a choice," Jack said. "Get ready we're leaving in twenty minutes."

Tobey noticed Jack's changed voice. He suspected it had something to do with Ianto's disappearance.

The cog-wheel door suddenly opened and Martha went inside.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," she said putting her bag on the sofa. "So what's the plan?" she asked.

"We're leaving in half an hour. We're going to use the builder as a decoy and we'll catch the man he makes an exchange with. Hopefully it will lead us to whoever is behind this."

o*o*o

Waking up felt really bad. Ianto remembered nothing that had happened last evening since he had lost the connection in his mobile. Now for some reason he was standing on the pavement of... he looked at the street sign, Portmanmoor Road. Why would he even be here. He looked around but couldn't find his car anywhere.

He went up the road still looking around. For some odd reason he had a hat on his head. He was unusually dressed for him. Yes, he had his suit underneath but over it he had a very rustling raincoat which he found very annoying.

He saw a man approach him. He stared at him wondering whether the man was really going to address him or was just curious.

"You're the one I should deliver the discs to, right?" the man asked.

Ianto had a very bad feeling about what was happening. He had a strong feeling he once again forgot something and that it was once more very important. He didn't answer at first. He wondered what the man was talking about but was unable to conclude anything.

He wanted to say something but was too late.

"Freeze!" he heard Jack's voice from behind him. He had a very weird deja vu he couldn't explain at first.

He complied quickly not even thinking about it. He fell down to his knees and put his hands on his head. "It's me," he said.

"Ianto? What are you doing here?"

"That's what I'd like to know as well," Ianto said annoyed. He took off the raincoat and hat.

"Martha!" Jack called their medical officer. "Seems like he forgot again..."

"It's nothing sir," Ianto said annoyed. "I'm all right. It was only a couple of hours."

"It's not nothing, I knew that letting you back in was a bad idea..." Jack's voice was now filled with anger.

"I told you it's nothing! Stop worrying about me so much!" Ianto ricocheted. He was surprised that Jack was able to get into a normal argument. He never saw Jack as one driven by his emotions.

"Stop it both of you!" Martha stepped in. "Ianto what is the last thing you remember?"

"There was a phone call..." Ianto said. His memories returned at once. "It was this person, he didn't say his name. But he did say "this is just the beginning". This is only a decoy. For some reason he wants revenge on Torchwood. I have no idea for what but he seemed very serious."

"It's a decoy all right," Tobey said bitterly. "There's a fire in the police headquarters. And before you say anything I would just like to point out that it was both mine and Gwen's workplace."

"So we got nowhere?" Jack said disgruntled.

"We know more," Martha disagreed.

"This might be connected to the strange behaviour of the rift," Tobey added. "By this I mean _him_. He's causing the rift to stop."

"Nobody can control the rift to halt it's activity this much," Jack noticed.

"Maybe not now... Maybe he's from the future?" Tobey suggested.

"Martha, Tobey. We'll go to the station and see if anyone had seen anything," Jack ordered quickly. "I highly doubt it but we need to take our chances. Ianto," Jack discretely pointed at Jeremy.

"No problem," Ianto answered wondering why was it that he felt so comfortable with the dirty work he did at Torchwood.

o*o*o

Alice stared at James for a very long time. She was smiling. She was so angry when she found out that she forgot to take him back home with her from school the other day. Thankfully somebody who had found him gave the toy to the lady at the reception and when she asked for it she didn't have to look too much.

"I'm so glad I found you," she said. "I didn't have anybody to talk to this past day. Do you know what happened in class today?" she took the rabbit and turning on her back she lifted it above her face. "James Morgan, the boy I told you about earlier, smiled at me. I always thought he liked Mary Ann but it seems that he doesn't really enjoy being with her," she started telling the story.

She glanced at James. For a second she thought his tiny plastic eyes were smiling at her and she giggled at the thought. She thought about how amazing would it be if he could answer.

Her dad entered the room and she stopped speaking immediately. "It's time to go to bed," he said.

The few thousand pounds on his bank account were a total mystery to him but he decided to just use this gift from lady fortune wisely and not worry about it too much. He had already tried contacting the bank about it and they said there was no mistake in the transaction. What more was there he could do?

o*o*o

Tobey closed his eyes upon seeing his newest email. An invitation. To a funeral. Two of his co-workers had died in the fire and he could only blame himself for noticing what was really going on so late. He shut his laptop and noticed Jack's gaze upon him.

He cursed under his breath. It was all for nothing. He checked each and every disc they had recovered only to find them full of random photographs not connected to themselves in any way. Their efforts had been futile, chasing the wrong people and going to the wrong places. All that only to find out they had been toyed with.

So this was the dark side of Torchwood...

o*o*o

Ianto put back the last rabbit into the box put a label on it sealing the box until it was needed again. He was writing a full-detailed report on the content of the container along with the circumstances in which it appeared.

"I just hope it's the last one," he said looking at Jack.

"I think that there are worse things for us to worry about. That policeman Andy did a good job collecting all of them from around Cardiff."

"Do you think it was OK leaving that one with the girl?" Ianto asked.

"We'll just have to find out," Jack answered leaving him alone to deal with the rest of the archiving.

Ianto took out his phone and looked at the screen. Any second now...

The mobile started vibrating in his hand. He answered it. "Thought it might be you," Ianto said hearing the familiar hoarse voice.

"Aren't you going to call somebody, track the conversation?" the man asked with a tiny bit of surprise in his voice.

"There's no point," Ianto answered glancing at the door to see if nobody was coming. "I've got you figured out, actually..."

There was a chuckle of amusement on the other side. "You really think so?"

"You know what we will do, or at least partly know what we will do... You're from the future aren't you?"

There was silence on the other side. Ianto smiled to himself. "I may have forgotten things but my mind works properly. So, have you seen how it all ends?" he asked. A prolonged silence answered him. "I thought so."

"You don't seem too eager to tell your boss about it?" the man said.

"I'll tell him when the time is right. There are still some things I need to find out first..."

Ianto hung up and lowered his arm. He was holding a little black notebook in his hand. The front page was signed with his handwriting: "Property of Ianto Jones".

* * *

><p>Hope you enjoyed A Different Kind Of Heart. Not an entirely happy ending but its not meant to be. 4th episode is going to be out next week - I'm not sure entirely when but I'm afraid you may have to wait a bit - sorry : But I <em>think<em> it's getting interesting. And some old characters reappear :)


	12. Episode 4: Part 1

**Episode 4: Friends and Foes**

Jane took a deep breath and looked into the mirror. She wiped her tears delicately with her fingers careful not to ruin the make-up she had worked so hard on. She smiled and watched her face twist in a fake innocent simper. She sighed seeing how futile her attempts were.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Just a second!" she said careful not to let her voice waver.

Jane smiled again, this time hiding the sorrow with confidence and went out. On her way outside she greeted a few friends who had come while she was away. Elvis Presley's magical voice beamed out of the speakers and Jane was sure that Michael, their closest friend, had already taken control over the stereo.

She stopped for a second. When had she started to call herself "we" instead of "I"? For how much longer would she be able to do that?

She stepped outside and saw her husband, Chris, and their mate Walt already preparing the barbecue. She almost once again fell into tears.

Jane had suspected it for a while already but today confirmed her worries. Chris was cheating on her. People often thought nobody noticed but it was more than easy to spot the signs: the prolonged handshake, the avoiding of each others eyes and the whisper in the ear during the kiss on the cheek.

She wasn't surprised though. The girl, his co-wroker, was younger and prettier than she was. She liked the same movies as they did and didn't mind a good horror. Jane had heard about her a little too much.

"Honey!" She heard Chris call her. "I forgot the ketchup, could you get it? And I believe the chips should be ready in a minute."

Jane smiled. She was so lucky with him. She didn't have to be the housewife when he was home. He took care of everything before she could even ask for his help. She hadn't cooked a meal in two weeks. The thought of him slipping through her fingers was just too much to bear.

"I'll be right there," she said, happy that she could think about something else for a while.

The chips were indeed almost ready. She turned the cooker off and took them out of the oven.

Screams lured her out of the kitchen. At first she thought that maybe one of the guys was doing a prank on the girls but the cries weren't that of accusation or fun. They were full of horror.

The living room was now filled with guests who hid behind the transparent doors to the garden. A few people were still trapped outside, mesmerized by the sight. One of them was Chris, his hand squeezed tightly on the metal spatula.

The attack came from nowhere. The animal grabbed two people at once and flew up, at the same time readying his beak to peek down and grab another human snack. The prey wasn't even running. The people were too stunned to realize what was really happening. It wasn't until the pterodactyl attacked again that everybody started running.

Jane watched the creature stand on its back legs and rip its prey into smaller, swallowable parts. Two other bodies were lying by its feet one already dead and one still twitching weakly. They had been slashed up by the pterodactyl's claws during the first attack. Jane couldn't even recognize them.

It was obvious however that those three were not enough to satisfy the creature's appetite. It quickly abandoned the carrion and glanced at the person closest to the grill. It gave out a cry but that only hypnotised Chris even more.

"Chris! Chris!" she shrieked with desperation. But the words hadn't reached him until it was too late. She tried running out to help him but someone grabbed her arm and stopped her from opening the door. She couldn't see him or hear him, her eyes shut and her shouting the only thing ringing in her ears. She then opened her eyes and watched Chris try desperately to defend himself with the spatula in his hand and fail miserably. The pterodactyl flew away with all its prey leaving only scraps of gore and a lot of blood behind.

Jane fell down to her knees and covered her lips with her hands. Her fingers were trembling and her lips were quivering trying to form words but the only sounds to leave her mouth were almost inaudible wails. She didn't even feel tears flowing down her cheeks like two wild streams. Somebody tried comforting her but she shoved their hand away shouting, "He's not dead!" she cried. "He can't be dead!" her voice broke down.

"She needs some space," somebody said. People gradually left her until only one person remained with her by the window.

"I'm so sorry," the person said. Jane recognized the voice of the girl who had made everybody leave her. "I'm Sarah, I worked with Chris..."

Jane sniffed. Her anger multiplied upon hearing that name. "Sod off," she said. "What right do you have to talk to me! You shagged him didn't you! Oh, don't give me that look! The only thing he did was talk about you, you think I wouldn't notice?"

"Jane, Jane..." Sarah tried to shush her, stop her shouting accusations.

She succeeded finally, Jane breaking into tears, her head falling onto Sarah's shoulder. She kept repeating "he's gone" over and over again.

"We were just friends Jane," Sarah said soothingly. "He was so in love with you. He kept talking about you. He said we'd be great friends. Shsh... It's going to be fine."

She also started crying letting out tears one by one.

The police came twenty minutes later, asking everybody what happened. Aside from Chris there were three other casualties. Jane wasn't the only one in the room mourning the death of a loved one.

o*o*o

Sergeant Dave Kossner never really liked working for the police. It was, however, his family profession. All of his relatives were either policemen or soldiers. He had little choice facing the expectations of his father and older siblings. But what he liked even less were situations like this. Talking to people who just made no sense at all.

"A dinosaur," he repeated the words of an over-excited man. There was a hint of irony in his voice.

"A pterodactyl! I'm dead serious!" the man insisted. "It ate them!"

"Right... And what did it look like?" Dave said, not really knowing what to do.

"Drop it, Dave," Brad approached him. "The spooks are here already. You know the drill..."

Dave rolled his eyes. The thing he hated the most about his situation was Torchwood. They would mess up even the easiest assignments and often you'd hear of weird things wherever they were involved. Life was complicated enough without them appearing everywhere.

He went out and watched five people leave the black SUV. Three of them he recognized: the American bloke - apparently the leader, the raven-haired woman and the tall slim man who had in himself something of a butler. He had had the "pleasure" of having his job taken away by them before. The other two he didn't know. One of them was a young man who didn't look as professional as the rest. He looked more like a college graduate than a civil servant. The other was a black woman slightly taller than the college bloke and with a lot more self-esteem.

Dave felt greatly irritated by that slick grin on the American's face. He decided to act like he didn't see them when they passed him.

"You're unusually cheery today," he heard the black-haired woman say as they were approaching him.

"Let's just say I'm reuniting with an old friend today..." the American answered.

"You know somebody here?" the tall bloke asked.

"Nope, not a soul."

"You don't mean the..." the college-boy started but his voice stuck in his throat.

"Yes. I mean Skippy."

"Since when was he called Skippy?" the raven-haired woman asked.

"Me and Ianto were bored once... You wouldn't imagine how many things in the Hub have their own names."

"I don't remember that..." Ianto said.

"You don't remember a lot of things Ianto."

"I don't think I would want remember if I were you," the black-haired woman said.

Dave sighed when the group had passed him and he couldn't hear their voices anymore. Such casual and meaningless conversations during work hours. He could never understood that lot.

o*o*o

"It clearly didn't have any teeth..." Martha said after examining the body part. "There are no teeth mark on any of the remains. I think it's what they say it is."

"I told you it was real," somebody whispered behind them.

"Will somebody get those people off the crime scene?" Jack asked loudly very irritated with the human behavior. Only a second ago they were screaming and running and now they all wanted to take a peak at what had happened.

Some of the guests backed away into the house but a few persistent individuals remained.

"This is a crime scene everybody, please go back inside," Gwen said at the same time discretely revealing her holstered weapon.

"Tobey, what have you got for me?" Jack asked.

"Traces of residual rift energy but its only a little more than what appears elsewhere in the city. Practically negligible."

"Are you sure this is really the one we had at the Hub?" Gwen asked.

Jack smiled with confidence. He approached the grill and picked up a plastic bottle. The label read "BBQ Sauce". "It's Skippy, alright. Seems like he survived the explosion."

Tobey glanced at the two talking. Ianto was talking to the witnesses and Martha examining the remains, none of them specially surprised with the nature of the conversation. He himself decided to wait with expressing disbelief until they were not in the public eye. Or police eye for that matter.

"Alright, lets pack up and leave the rest to them," Jack pointed at the policemen.

o*o*o

Tobey woke up and saw his cup next to him. The coffee he had had earlier, almost drunken up was now replaced by a new one, apparently freshly brewed from the smell of it.

"Thanks," he said, still half asleep, but knowing that Ianto was somewhere around.

He couldn't really figure that man out. He knew absolutely nothing about him and he had never seen him complain although he obviously worked a lot more than the average work day. In fact he had seen him sleep only once although he knew that he had some sort of medical condition that had something to do with his loss of memories. He couldn't help but think that such an amount of work was a bit too much for somebody who looked as sick as Ianto did. But the man never expressed even the slightest bit of annoyance or even question. In fact, he seemed to have an answer to any of Tobey's problems whenever he had asked him for advice.

The technician yawned. He had once again slept over against his will. He was more used to the unusual hours now but still dozed off when faced with checking countless internet sites searching for any clue as to where a pterodactyl might have appeared. He didn't remember when exactly he had fallen asleep but when he had last checked it was four in the morning. He couldn't help remembering that Ianto was still awake at that time occasionally lurking out from the archives to check something or make a new cup of coffee for him. Jack had disappeared suddenly and Tobey had no idea where he went because he had heard neither the cog-wheel door open or the invisible lift go up. Martha and Gwen had left first - neither of them needed for anything more for the time being.

"I'm going to pop out for a second," Tobey said turning around. He needed a good shower to wake him up and an even better breakfast.

There was nobody around so Tobey just drunk up his coffee and left the cup on the table.

o*o*o

"Finally..." Kate said annoyed but with a dose of relief. She was alone again and could go to her own school now. She couldn't understand why she was forced to take her little brother to school every single morning. He was already ten years old, he could go by himself. She was sixteen, she had exams and friends and not to mention a life of her own. She bitterly remembered all her lost chances to hang out with Greg because of that little twerp.

She was still thinking about the unfairness of her life when she met up with Maria and Diana.

"Sorry, I'm late... " she said. "I had to take care of Travis again."

"No, I get it," Maria said but despite her face smiling and her voice being sweet her eyes expressed carefully concealed annoyance. "Anyway, you won't imagine what happened to me the other day!"

Kate listened to the story with excitement. It was one of the good things about school. Hearing about other people's lives. It was easy. She didn't have to think about what she could or couldn't say because somebody else was doing the talking. And once the story was finished all that was left was to show approval or disapproval according to the other person's expectation.

They were two blocks away from the school when Kate stopped. Her throat was itching as if something had gotten into her mouth except she didn't feel anything there. She tried coughing but it only made matters worse.

"Are you OK?" Diana asked.

"It's fine, something's just stuck at my throat," Kate lied. She knew something was wrong but she couldn't put her finger on it. She had seen a tiny glitter of light right before feeling something fly into her mouth. "Just go on, I'll catch up in a second."

"All right, just don't go ditching school without us!" Maria said before going after Diana.

Kate coughed again. The itching was gone but she felt differently. She had more energy, more life. Her whole body was burning with this fire as if she were sick except she knew she wasn't. She felt better than ever and it was scaring her.

She looked at her hands: as normal as ever except... A grey mark was growing on her palm and she felt pulsing in that spot. She closed and opened her hands. The mark was gone.

Kate looked up. The school was barely a hundred meters ahead. She took a step forward. But she wasn't getting any closer. Her feet took her some place else, some place she didn't know. The rush she felt previously was gone. Now all that was left was fear and a vast darkness in her soul.

o*o*o

"This is mental," Brad said looking at the video on the screen.

Andy glanced over the shoulders of the three policeman hunching over a small computer screen. The video they were watching was of a girl, approximately fifteen years old mutating into something, something which Andy was sure was alien. Only a few moments later she was standing over two dead bodies. All the movements were blurred and the image was shaking so it was impossible to determine what exactly had happened between the mutation of the girl and the death of her victims .

"What is this?" Andy asked.

"Oh, some kid recorded this with his mobile before contacting us," Brad said not taking his eyes off of the screen.

"Yeah but Torchwood was there before we even got to the scene," Dave added with a hint of anger and annoyance.

"Torchwood's there?" Andy asked.

"Should still be, I think. We only got this twenty minutes ago."

"Gwen..." Andy whispered and left the room.

It took him another ten minutes to reach the crime scene - a back alleyway behind a supermarket. Jack was there with a girl he didn't know.

"If you're looking for Gwen then you've better of reaching her on her cell," Jack said overlooking the girl, probably a medic, analyzing the bodies.

"To be honest, I want to speak with you, Jack," Andy said. Indeed at first he thought about talking about that mater with Gwen but now that Jack was here he thought it would be better to talk to the source.

"If so it's gonna have to wait," Jack dismissed him. "I have a meeting with someone after this."

"It's only one thing! I think you can answer my one question," Andy's protest was unusually loud.

"Make it quick!" Jack said focusing more on Martha than the policeman.

"I know I have a possible promotion pending, I want to know if it had something to do with you," Andy said. He had started suspecting it a few days earlier and the thought couldn't leave his head. He didn't know if he could bear pushing his career forward with nothing but contacts.

"I thought you would be happy, Gwen said you were only waiting to get out of patrols," Jack's casual answer only enraged Andy even further.

"Well, yes but not like this!"

"Then how do you intend on climbing your ladder up to the top? By gracefully filing in reports when needed and being an obedient puppy? It doesn't work that way in the real world. I can't wait for you to become a proper police officer! I need you to do your job and not fetch coffee for your superiors! If you want to work for me then you have to prioritize!"

"Are you trying to tell me there's nothing more important in the world than Torchwood? Face it, _Captain_, when you were gone everything was going smooth and you need me to do all those odd jobs for Torchwood like collecting Easter toys or spying on my superiors because Torchwood has absolutely no allies in the real world!"

Jack frowned for just a tiny moment before his face returned to its original confident smile. What Andy said wasn't spot on but it wasn't false either.

"Is that all?" he asked not intending to continue with the argument. "Martha, did you find anything?" He clearly ignored Andy at the same time announcing the end of the conversation.

"Not much," Martha replied standing between the corpses. "No weapons were used and all I can say is what is already visible on the video. Except there's some liquid spilled here. It doesn't look like water or blood and it might be connected to the killer. We can pack up everything and take it to the Hub."

Andy rolled his eyes seeing how it would be impossible to regain Jack's attention even a little bit. "Torchwood, eh?" he murmured. "Saving the world from killer bunnies, without it we're all doomed!" He didn't even attempt to hide the irony in his voice.

o*o*o

Lois stepped of the train and onto the platform. She proceeded into the main building and smiled seeing how Jack was already waiting for her there.

"Lois Habiba," he said greeting her with a kiss on the cheek, "just the person I wanted to see."

"Hi," she said meekly. Jack's directness in work was a real blessing but when she had to talk to him personally she didn't always know how to do it. "Sorry, I couldn't come earlier, heard you had a few problems in the meantime."

"Don't worry, it was nothing we couldn't handle. Had a talk with Ianto then?" he continued, taking Lois' luggage and pointing her towards the parking lot.

"I was surprised to hear him answer the phone."

"I was surprised to see him in Cardiff."

"Well, I suppose I've seen stranger things happen," Lois continued and Jack knew she wasn't just talking about the Four-Five-Six.

"Did you do what I asked you?" Jack asked suddenly cautious.

"I have all the files in my purse," she showed him her black leather handbag. "Including last month's electricity loss and all the clocks restarting. Everything even remotely uncommon that had happened while you were away."

"Perfect. I knew I could count on you."

They reached the parking lot and Jack unlocked a black SUV that was parked closest to them.

"I see Torchwood is really something." Lois smiled remembering meeting the team for the first time. Their expertise was boundless but stories about smuggling themselves out of the city in a truck full of potatoes could make some people doubtful.

"Have you ever doubted us?" Jack asked with a whimsical smile on his face.

"Last time we met you were still fugitives," Lois pointed out.

Jack laughed and dismissed what she said with his hand. "Happens all the time!"

Jack's cheerful attitude spread to Lois and she also started giggling. "That's one thing I know I can't doubt."

The Torchwood leader opened the passenger door for the girl and he himself sat on the drivers place. He started the engine quite loudly, without a doubt to show off in front of Lois.

They were already halfway to the Hub when Lois stated something that had been troubling her since Jack's call over a week ago asking her to help out for the time being. "The things that Torchwood deals with..." she started. "Are they all like them?" she asked referring to the aliens encountered during the summer.

"If you mean the strange taste in drugs then no," Jack answered, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. "But if you are talking about the danger then you never know, it might get worse."

Lois swallowed, trying to gather her thoughts. "I won't be able to work for long in Cardiff," she finally said. "It's not Torchwood, it's just that my whole life is in London. I have obligations."

Jack smiled. "I never planned on having you stay here for too long," he said.

The girl looked puzzled. "What do you mean by that?" she asked.

Jack's smile widened but the mystery remained. "You've got bigger things ahead of you, Lois."

Lois leaned back, trying to drown inside the soft chair. She had talked with Jack only a few times but whenever he got mysterious it suddenly became very hard to continue the conversation naturally.

"Bigger than Torchwood?" Lois asked trying to make a joke. When she had applied for a position as Bridget Spears' assistant she had expected to become an ordinary secretary like thousand in the world. When the Four-Five-Six incident started and Torchwood came along it was her curiosity that drove her to help them. And curiosity as they say killed the cat. But Lois Habiba was still alive, working as an assistant for a press representative of the Minister of Defence, with a nice salary and promotion prospects. The curiosity called Torchwood didn't kill her just yet but made her life better and more interesting.

"You'll just have to wait and see," Jack winked.

The SUV swerved right into the parking spot and the two of them left and headed towards the invisible lift. Jack smiled. He loved this moment.

He stood on the pavement right next to the place where the invisible lift was "hidden". He reached out towards Lois and had her stand right next to him on the block of pavement which coincidentally also served as Torchwood's front door.

"Hold on tight," he said, giving his arm for Lois to squeeze right after pressing a combination of buttons on his wrist strap. The moment the lift moved Lois jumped and grabbed Jack's hand.

"What is this?" she asked half scared and half laughing. "Isn't it a bit irresponsible? Won't the people see it? Won't-" her voice stuck inside her throat as she finally saw the Torchwood base from inside.

The water cascading down the rift manipulator grasped her attention at first but as she looked down she noticed the computer workplaces, blinking screens and lights. Two people were working behind the screens, so concentrated that they didn't seem to notice the two descending from ceiling. Lois recognized Gwen as one of them. A little further a black woman was working on what looked like a... Lois raised her hand to her lips; it was a corpse! Lois looked further around trying to locate Ianto but he was nowhere to be seen. Instead, right until the lift reached the ground she tried to take in the underground station-like interiors and the individual rooms on the different levels of the Hub.

With a thump the block reached the ground and Jack immediately stepped off reaching his hand out towards Lois to help her do the same.

"Welcome to Torchwood." The voice which said this was not Jack's. Lois looked around and saw Ianto with a mug of freshly-brewed coffee ready for Lois to drink it. In the other hand he had a small tray with a bowl full of biscuits.

"Hey, Ianto, that was my line!" Jack complained.

"I think you got enough of the cool action, sir," Ianto smiled.

"Let me introduce you to everyone," Jack said.

Lois was surprised that suddenly everybody was right next to them.

"Gwen and Ianto you already know, the lovely lady is our amazing Martha Jones - medical officer with a big talent not only in medicine, and lastly Tobey Magpie, the newest addition to the team - a computer scientist, still a bit rough around the edges but recommended by the best! This is Lois Habiba - without her the Four-Five-Six incident probably wouldn't have been brought to a happy ending."

"Hi," Lois said, correcting the purse on her shoulder. "It will be a pleasure to work with you."

"OK, everybody, debrief in ten minutes, I want you all there," Jack said suddenly switching to his boss-mode. "Ianto, in the meantime I would like you to show Lois around the Hub."

Everyone nodded. It was more a habit than the need of confirmation that made them do it. Gwen, Tobey and Martha headed towards their respective workplaces, the technician already starting a casual conversation with the taller woman: "you worked here before?" he asked but before Lois could hear the rest Ianto spoke to her: "shall we go?"

However, just before they proceeded Jack stopped them by grabbing Ianto's arm. "How come I never get cookies?" he asked with a fake complaint.

o*o*o

Jane's red and swollen eyes looked at Sarah from behind the glasses. It was a look of misery and desperation. Sarah was certain she had never before seen such sadness in somebody's eyes. She reached out and touched Jane's hand.

"I am so sorry," she said forcing a smile. "I know you probably want to be alone right now but I'm so worried..."

It had been hard getting Jane to meet up with her, especially because the widow still felt hostility for her. She probably had trouble believing that Sarah and Chris hadn't had an affair. Now they were sitting in a small cafe just down the road from where the widow lived. The bright interiors seemed dimmed with the weight of her new friend's sorrows.

"I saw my friend go through something similar before," Sarah continued. "I realise that I don't know what you're feeling right now but Chris was a very good friend to me this past year," she survived Jane's deadly glare, "and as much as I can I just want to help you."

"It was so sudden," Jane sobbed. "That beast... I can't even blame anyone..."

The widow closed her eyes. The sun was unusually bright this spring and it only made her feel worse. She wanted rain, she wanted everybody to stop smiling and feel as miserable as she did.

"I want that damn thing dead!" Jane hid her face in her hands. She couldn't control herself anymore, not even in front of Sarah, who until yesterday was her mortal enemy.

Sarah stroked her head and it felt surprisingly soothing. For a moment Jane considered being her friend as a good thing. But her pride didn't allow her to accept that just yet.

It was at that moment that the sun was blocked by a tall shadowy figure of a man.

"Excuse me ladies, but I think I overheard your conversation there," the person grinned a wicked smile, "and I think we could help each other out."

o*o*o

The moment Ianto put down the last coffee Jack started the briefing. "We've got two cases on right now so we have to get working on both of them. I think that yesterday's incident is enough proof that Skippy needs to be found quickly."

"Skippy is our pet pterodactyl," Ianto explained Lois with a smile. This bizarre fact was one of the most interesting things about Torchwood that Ianto had discovered since his return.

"Ianto I think that you should get on this case as Skippy knows you best of all of us. You've found him once before so I think you could do it again. This of course doesn't mean the rest of you can rest on your laurels and do nothing on this case. Any news of Skippy I want you to pass onto Ianto. As for the crazy alien girl case I want to know what you have so far; Martha?"

Martha stood up and turned on the projector. She put on the video of the mutating girl and explained her findings. "From what I got from the bodies these killings are obviously not done by anything human. I found organic tissue on the wounds but I couldn't identify it. There was nothing in the database that matched the DNA pattern. It's probably a parasite alien or one that can assume human form. The video was not clear enough to see how the mutation proceeded. "

"So we've got nothing yet," Gwen interrupted.

"Not enough to identify it when we see it, no," Martha admitted. "Unless of course it walks around in its alien form but we would've heard about it already if that were the case."

"Tobey, any luck with identifying the human form of the alien?" Jack asked.

"Not yet," the technician said. "I can't take anything from the video because most of the time she's facing the other way but even when you can see her face the video is too low quality for any identification. And none of the CCTV cameras around the crime scene seemed to catch her which is a bit suspicious if you ask me."

"What about the person who took the video?" Jack continued his interrogation.

"Oh, that was easy," Tobey smiled. "I got all the witnesses' details from the police records. There were six people in total present when the girl became... that. Two are lying on the table in the autopsy room as we speak and four managed to avoid death. Three of them reported to the police what they saw the fourth one was the one who anonymously sent the video recording. He didn't leave a name or address but I did managed to trace the I.P. address from which he emailed it to a house near the crime scene."

"Great, Gwen and Lois, I want you to interrogate the witnesses see if the girl can be identified. When you're done I want them to forget. Tobey, I want you to see if you can enhance the footage, we need to find that girl. Also, eliminate any trace of that video from the web. I don't want to see it on any youtube or vimeo or any other video hosting sites. Martha, do you think you can get any information about the alien from the victims?"

Martha nodded. "I still need to identify that substance which was on the victims' bodies. I think it will tell us a lot about the way the attacker preys on the victims."

"One more thing," Jack said. "What do we know about the habits of this alien?"

Martha blinked not exactly understanding the question.

"Why would it kill those people?" Jack asked.

"From what I analysed there's no particular reason for this behavior," Martha said slowly. "There's no sign that the alien feasted on its victims and the attack seems really spontaneous, the victims were not even aware of it so they couldn't have provoked it."

Jack frowned. There was always a reason, he hated when there seemed to be none. It seemed to be like giving a point to the old Torchwood, the Torchwood that killed anything alien without an attempt at understanding it. Jack couldn't stand when all they got were the Weevils and parasites and all the damnation of the universe. And ever since he had gotten back it seemed to him that _that_ was all they were getting. And that together with the fact that the rift was acting unusually made him suspect this wasn't a coincident at all.

"We have to find something," Jack said with determination. "For now that's all. I don't want to see any more corpses on that table so get to work."

o*o*o

Kate woke up and noticed she was sitting by the desk in her room, her forehead leaning on her pencils and notebooks. Her head was hurting and she was certain that all the objects had by now imprinted themselves on her face. She raised her head and looked at her hands. The grey spot had gotten bigger. Now it was on both her hands and slowly reaching out towards her wrists. It looked like a blot of ink slowly getting bigger and bigger, moving, trying to spill onto the largest area possible. She felt sick at the very possibility. She touched it but she couldn't feel it. She pressed harder, pinning her fingernail until blood was coming out but there was nothing, no pain, no touch.

"What are you doing?" Travis asked standing in the door to her room.

Kate immediately hid her hands. "What are _you_ doing here?" she asked harshly. "You should be at school right now!"

"I was feeling ill and our teacher allowed me to go home," Travis answered scared of his sister's anger.

"She let you go home alone?" Kate asked suspiciously.

"I told her mom was already waiting for me outside. I was feeling really bad..." the boy said meekly.

"You were feeling ill," the girl corrected him. "Speak properly."

"But you talk like that too!" Travis complained.

"I'm older so I'm allowed," Kate used this excused for everything. Starting with getting more pocket money and ending on bullying Travis.

The sister looked at the ten-year-old. He really didn't look too well. He was pale and sweating, his eyes looked like two shiny saucers. She approached him and touched his forehead. She felt cold sweat running down her spine. She couldn't feel heat as well. She tried with the back of her palm and was glad that now it worked. Travis was indeed running a temperature. She sighed. This had always happened whenever their parents were away. The only thing he could do was cause trouble for her. He was always the one learning well and bringing pride to mom and dad. And she was stuck with taking care of him every single day, taking him to school, collecting him from school, taking him to friends, cooking dinner, helping with home work. She could feel the irritation in her friends voices whenever she mentioned her brother's name. She could never hang out properly and of course she had to come back home early because if she didn't she would wake up Travis. Thank god they at least didn't share a room.

"Come on." She took his hand and guided him to the kitchen. She found the cold medicine and made the boy swallow the pills. "You hungry?" she asked.

The boy shook his head but Kate still made him eat a nutella sandwich.

She then made him lie down in his room.

Finally, she was free. She returned to her room and glanced out the window. There was a strange man standing on the opposite side of the road. He was tall with a mane of black hair. He had a dark long coat on despite it being quite warm today. He wasn't looking at her window but for some reason she felt as if he were observing her. She studied his face from a distance. He seemed familiar but she couldn't tell where exactly had she seen him before. But this wasn't the time to worry about him.

She looked at her hands. The blood had already stopped flowing. She hoped Travis didn't notice the grey and red spots on her hands. She wondered whether she should have called the hospital. But if she did mom would say she's only causing problems for everyone. She frowned. Maybe it would go away? She tried the internet but the top results were nowhere close her query: "I have grey spots on my hands what should I do?". Instead they answered questions connected to chicken pox or tattoos. She rephrased her question a couple of times but still nothing gave her any clue as to what was happening to her. Not only did that weird mark appear on her arm she suddenly lost consciousness and woke up in her room. Only now she realized she had no idea where she had been those three hours in between going to school and waking up at home. But before she could concentrate on that thought her cell phone rang.

Kate immediately reached out for the device and by habit answered and placed it to her ear. Except the earpiece didn't reach her ear. She dropped it half way suddenly realizing she can't feel the phone's vibrations. She couldn't take it anymore.

She didn't scream but crawled on the ground trying to find the ringing phone. She felt warm tears gathering in her eyes and finally gave up on searching. She wrapped her hands around her knees and wept silently.

o*o*o

"I don't believe it," Diana said annoyed. "She didn't even answer the phone!"

"I can't believe Kate ditched school without us, especially when we specifically told her not to," Maria continued the complaint.

"She can be such a bitch sometimes, always making everybody pity her. Oh, I need to take care of my little brother, my mom doesn't respect me," Diana mocked her friend.

"She's such a drama queen, isn't she?"

Diana's phone rang cutting the conversation short. "Oh it's her. I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind," she pressed the green button and put the phone to her ear. "A'right Kate?" she greeted her friend.

"Hey, listen, sorry about not answering just now, I put my phone somewhere and couldn't find it," the girl on the other side of the line lied.

"OK, whatever you say. But what's that about ditching school today? I thought I told you to tell us if you were planning anything!"

"Oh, about that... I suddenly felt really ill and I thought it better if I went home," the girls voice was weak and seemed to crack every now and again.

"Oh, 'right then," Diana wasn't so sure of that 'piece of mind' of hers anymore. Kate did sound a bit ill. "I'll let you off today. Just tell us if it happens again, OK?"

"Yeah..."

"Are we still on today? You know that Greg's gonna come and I just spoke to him earlier and guess what! He asked if you were coming!" Diana smiled conveying the good news. Everybody knew that Kate fancied Greg.

"Yeah, I think I can make it today," Kate's voice had nowhere as much enthusiasm as Diana.

The second girl grimaced. "Oi, what's with that attitude? I'm telling you that _Greg's interested in you_ and _that's_ your reaction?"

Diana could hear a sigh in the earpiece. "Yeah, sorry it's just that my head is hurting real bad and I have a migraine."

"Well, migraine or no migraine you can't ditch today!" Diana said hearing how Kate obviously preferred to finish the conversation. "See you!"

"She has a migraine, yeah right..." Maria said, rolling her eyes.

"You know, she did sound a bit weird... Like something was happening..." Diana turned to protecting her friend.

"Something, like what? She hurt her finger? Tripped over her shoelace and scraped her knee? That _something_ better not ruin our afternoon! We just got to go through English and we're free!"

Diana smiled. "Oh, but Beardy is such a drag! This will be the longest forty-five minutes in my life!"

* * *

><p>Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading and lasting so far. Also huge thanks to Ash-Varnei for betareading :)<p> 


	13. Episode 4: Part 2

Ianto immersed in the lecture didn't notice the footfalls at first. But once they got louder he realized somebody was coming and hid the notebook behind his back. As he had expected the intruder was Jack.

"Archives are your new thing, I see," the leader joked.

"I'm trying to see if I recorded anything about the pterodactyl to help me search for it, sir," Ianto lied still attempting to hide the notebook.

"Let's stop with the lies Ianto, I can see you're acting weird. If you're trying to search for your past I can't stop you but I can tell you this: I went through the same thing myself and even faced with bits of information about the two years I had forgotten I didn't remember anything. And I don't think you will either."

"Two years may be fine but losing five years feels like losing an entire life," Ianto said firmly. "Now if you'll excuse me, sir, I have got duties..."

Ianto felt Jack's gaze as he moved past his superior. He couldn't help but walk in a stiff awkward fashion. He was too nervous. Jack seemed to have known everything there was to know about him, even when he lied. No, _especially_ when he lied. At times the leader just went with the flow of the fiction, answered as if it were the truth but the coffee boy still realized that there was nothing he could hide.

"Ianto?" Jack called him from behind.

He stopped and turned around squeezing the notebook in his hand. "Sir?" he asked with his usual confidence.

"For both our sake, you better not pursue whatever you find in that notebook."

"I don't know what you're talking about, sir." Ianto smiled and headed to the upper level of the Hub. For a very long time he had thought of himself as the perfect lier. Now, he wasn't so sure he deserved the title anymore.

Once he returned to the main level of the Hub he found Tobey. The technician was fighting with the image reconstruction program and it was obvious that he was on the losing side.

"I need to take care of this Skippy business, could you keep an eye on the security, if anybody suspicious appears," Ianto asked casually.

"Yeah sure," Tobey's answer was habitual and it was obvious that the man didn't even think it through. It took him a few minutes to realize he just added himself a new pile of work. "Wait, what?" he asked trying to take it back but Ianto had already gone.

o*o*o

Lois knocked on the door probably for the first time in a while seeing a house without a doorbell. The man who opened it was probably in his late thirties, with unkempt dark hair and a bit of a beer belly sticking out from under his Portal 2 T-shirt. He looked like the scruffy version of the man in Gwen's witnesses' file: Tome Logemann.

"Hi, we're with the police and we would like to ask you a few questions concerning today's affairs," she said and Gwen showed him her old police badge.

The man's eyes widened in fear, "You don't mean that freak, do you?" he asked terrified. "That was the weirdest thing I've seen in my life!"

"We mean exactly that Mr Logemann," Lois said confidently. "We hope you would answer a few of our questions and we will do our best to protect you from this threat in the future."

"Well if this means that I won't have anything to do with it then come on in," the man said, a bit too eagerly, "I'll answer all of your questions."

Tome Logemann invited the two women inside. The living room was messy with dvd boxes lying near the TV set, a bag of crisps left open on the coffee table and crusts lying on and around the sofa. One cushion was lying in the corner instead of on the couch and the other was almost flat, obviously its sponginess lost after years of using. The TV was on showing the pause menu of an xbox shooting game.

"Sorry for the mess," the man said. "I didn't really expect anybody to turn up."

Mr Logemann quickly made the sofa, picked up the dvd boxes and other trinkets lying on the floor and took the chips and any other food to the kitchen. The living room suddenly looked quite presentable.

"If you don't mind I'll make the coffee while Lois asks the necessary questions," Gwen said kindly but firmly.

"No! Wait!" the man protested but immediately regretted it. It just showed he had something to hide. "I mean..."

Gwen caught onto what he was trying to say immediately. "Please do not worry," she said. "This is not a raid but witness interrogation. We have no interest in those things."

Mr Logemann still didn't look sure but Gwen wouldn't take no for an answer. She went to the kitchen and allowed Lois to take over asking the necessary questions.

The kitchen was an even bigger mess than the living room. There were greasy dishes lying next to the sink waiting for the wash that probably would never come. There was obviously no woman in Tome Logemann's life. Otherwise the house would look even a bit more presentable. Gwen noticed ready-meal boxes in the rubbish bin and a spices shelf which obviously didn't hold any spices. Gwen would have liked to start guessing what each of the little jars held. The names _Rush_ or _Speed_ most certainly didn't identify anything legal. There was even an actual ceramic pot containing pot. Gwen couldn't believe that a grown man was still living like a college student. If she didn't have the files Tobey retrieved from the city council server she wouldn't have believed that this man was thirty six years old.

The tea was fortunately on the countertop and Gwen wasn't forced to search the shelves. She couldn't help fearing what she might find in the recesses of the cupboard. She also found three clean mugs fairly easily. All that was left was boiling the water.

While waiting she overheard the conversation between Lois and Mr Loegmann. Her new coworker proved to be very capable in interrogating. This was the third cup of tea Gwen would make this afternoon and most likely the last one. They had been to three other witnesses already and this was the fourth person who saw the bloody events of the morning. It was also the man who took the video and sent it to the police. The previous three witnesses helped in identifying how the mutation took place: a weird dark blue substance engulfed the girl starting with her hands. Apparently she was scared and started screaming. This description, although not detailed helped to determine that the alien was in fact a parasite. However, further identification of the girl proved futile. None of the witnesses remembered her clearly enough to reconstruct her face or body.

"Can I describe that girl, you ask?" the man said loudly, stopping Gwen's analysis. "Of course I can bloody describe her! I know who she is! It's that bloody chav who always hangs out on the corner with her chavy friends! I hear her laughing at everybody who passes by and she makes me sick!"

"Do you know her name?" Lois asked. From her voice it sounded like she was a bit taken aback by the man's directness and liveliness when it came to this case.

"Her name? Of course I bloody know her name! That's why I took that video hoping that the cops would finally do a bit of good for the society and took care of brats like her."

"Well you didn't include the name in your email and with the quality of your video it is hard to determine the identity of that girl," Lois said.

"OK, well I can give you every bit of information you'd like. I once went to their house to tell her parents how they should raise a girl like that properly, teach her that disrespecting elders is a bad thing and all that."

The water finished boiling and Gwen poured it into the three cups. To the third one she added a tiny white pill. She took the cups and brought them to the living room. The man was still telling the story of his fight with the girl's parents when Gwen passed him a cup.

"Please, we just need the girl's name and address," she said bringing an end to the story.

"It's Kate Wingard and she lives on Newton Road," the man said obviously intimidated by the more experienced woman. "I don't know the exact house number but they should have a name plate so you could find the place without a problem."

Gwen smiled as Mr Logemann took a sip of his tea. Now they just needed to wait for the drugs to kick in. A casual conversation seemed like the best thing to do while waiting. "So, Mr Logemann, was it exactly that you do?"

o*o*o

Ianto was sitting in front of his cup of coffee and files by the table just outside the cafe "Poppy". It was quiet, the lunch break already over. The notebook he had recovered earlier was lying in front of him just next to the blend. He was still considering what Jack had told him. Curiosity and his desire to know his past fought with the fear of going against Jack's orders. Normally that wouldn't pose a problem but he felt as though opening this notebook would make him hate Jack and that was the one thing he wanted to avoid. He had already seen the note on the first page: The Diary of Jack's deaths. He thought it sounded like a good book title at first but after seeing a grave with Jack Harkness' name on it he wondered what if it was really true? They dealt with the unordinary and supernatural but it still felt so awkward knowing that one of them might themselves be in fact one of the wonders of the universe. The thought made him shiver, not with fear but excitement.

"Mind if I join you?" Ianto looked up and saw a young woman in her late twenties standing over him with a cup of coffee of her own.

Ianto looked at all the other empty tables. "Yes, please," he pointed at the table in front of him. There was no way he could just refuse her.

The girl sat down and stared at Ianto for a while. He awkwardly cleaned all the documents and put them aside. Then he started drinking his coffee unsure of what he was supposed to do in a situation like this.

"Haven't seen you here in a while," the woman said.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Ianto asked ready to explain his entire situation again. Thankfully there was no need.

"Oh, sorry, I haven't introduced myself," the woman said. "I'm Shannon Wilkins, I used to come here and you were usually sitting somewhere close by so I started noticing you."

"Ianto Jones, sorry I can't say I recognise you," this was a lie. Upon hearing her name Ianto did remember knowing about this person. Doctor Shannon Wilkins, twenty-nine years old, graduated from Cardiff University at twenty-six, now working as a pediatrician. She was always present at the Poppy at this hour on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He knew she had taken notice of him at one point and adjusted her visit times to when Ianto was present.

"So where were you these past few months?" Shannon asked.

Ianto took a deep breath. "Just here and there, you know. I wasn't really going out at that time. You could say I was under a cloud." Ianto smiled. Maybe the _cloud_ part was a lie but the _under_ part definitely not.

"Glad to see you back with the living!"

Ianto smiled awkwardly. She had no idea how accurate that was.

"So do you have a hidden agenda? You are drinking with a stranger, you know?"

The girl laughed. "You're not really a stranger are you?"

Ianto noticed her behaviour was really flirtatious. She was leaning over the table a little as if wanting to get closer to Ianto. He on the other hand sat straightly and a bit stiffly in his chair not really knowing how to behave. He wasn't used to being hit on. Not that he remembered at least.

"To tell you a secret," the girl leaned forward, "I knew your name before," she whispered. "Actually, I asked the cashier once if she knew your name and she told me. Ianto. That's unusal..."

"So is asking for stranger's names," Ianto remarked.

"Tall handsome stranger in a suit sitting alone in a cafe? What girl could resist..."

Ianto blushed. He hadn't known how to behave at first. But then he figured he might use her, at least slightly. "You sound a bit like a stalker," he laughed but for a second was scared that Shannon would take offense. She didn't.

"I wouldn't go that far but my detective skills are well above average," Shannon said.

"So how much do you exactly know about me?" Ianto asked.

"I know that you're a spy," they both laughed at what Shannon thought was a joke, "and I know that you're not married," Shannon glanced at Ianto's hands. "But when I last saw you you were seeing somebody. That doesn't seem to be the case right now."

Ianto raised his brow. "How can you tell?"

"You used to shine whenever you received a phone call from that one person. Generally you were different, more confident. Now you seem a bit confused."

Ianto laughed. "You seem to have a people talent, Shannon. You see there is something bugging me right now. Maybe you could help me. You see, I have this," Ianto paused looking for the right word, "friend who keeps a lot of secrets. And one of those secrets is here," Ianto showed her his notebook. "That friend told me not to delve into what's inside but I don't want secrets between us. The problem is I fear that whatever is inside might make me hate that... friend."

"Whatever it is it seems to be important," Shannon said. "If I were you I wouldn't invade her privacy without her consent. I believe that you should get her to tell you what's inside or at least try to. It seems that your relationship with her is too fragile for such behaviour."

Ianto looked at her intensely. Only now did he notice how pretty she actually was. She had curly blond hair cascading down her shoulders and a pair of glasses covering a pair of green eyes. Her brown buttoned-up blouse was professional but still casual enough for her not to look too serious. A humble smile and a set of freckles made her seem easy-going and not conceited. He had no idea why she was referring to "his friend" as "she" but he didn't mind going with it.

"So that's what I know from observation, how about you tell me something about yourself?" Shannon asked.

Ianto smiled sadly. "Rules and regulations," he said.

"What does that mean?"

"It means I can't tell you anything. I'm a spy remember?"

Shannon giggled. "How about your favorite colour then? I know you can tell me that! It won't really blow your cover will it?"

Violet, Ianto thought. "Green," he said.

Shannon looked at him. "You don't look like a green person," she said.

"What does a green person look like?" Ianto asked with a poker face. What was happening with him? Why didn't his lies work anymore? Did he lose his touch? Or was it something else that he had lost?

"They're nice. And you're nice too but you're too mysterious to be a green person. You seem more like a violet to me."

Ianto smiled. "I need to get to work."

The man stood up and took all his files as well as the diary and the empty paper coffee cup.

"Will I see you again?" Shannon asked her flirtatious smile not disappearing.

Ianto smiled mysteriously, "maybe..." he said. His mind was telling him _no _but his heart was curious and excited. This woman was dangerous. She could see through him as well as... well, as well as Jack. He knew he should never show up in front of her again but he also knew that he wouldn't be able to listen to his voice of reason. His curiosity was already sparked. It was too late to turn back.

o*o*o

Tobey turned around to see the whole Hub empty. Jack and Martha had gone to search for the girl and Ianto had left to apprehend the pterodactyl. He himself was busy searching for the video of the girl but thankfully there was none so far. From what he had heard Gwen and Lois had already deleted the original from the Tome Logemann's disc and cell phone. Once the two had phoned in to give him the identity of the girl Tobey was relieved of the duty of finding that identity himself. He had only needed to print out all the details for Jack and Martha and they were gone searching for the girl. Now he was alone in the Hub with little to do. He only needed to be available on the comm.

He remembered Ianto's request to keep an eye out for the shop and decided to take his work upstairs. He transferred all the files to his laptop and took it to the tourist information centre.

Only a few minutes later he found himself faced wit a very unusual visitor.

The door suddenly opened and a girl only a few years younger than him came in. She was probably in her early twenties. She was neither tall nor short but her confident stature seemed to give a few inches to her height. Not to mention the spiky blue hair. She was quite pretty, with a straight small nose and a long oval face. She was dressed in a short black skirt, black tights and a black and white striped long-sleeved blouse.

"I'm looking for Jack," she said looking around. "I'm quite sure I got the right place."

Tobey, who at the time of the girls entrance was sitting with his feet on the desk and a laptop on his legs, almost dropped the device when putting his feet down.

"Hi," he said still quite in shock. Nobody ever came to the information office, that's what Ianto usually said, why was this girl here? All the thoughts were rushing in his head and one which appeared most often was "Oh god... she's hot!". Once his head cooled down he considered her question. "Jack's not here right now but I can take a message if you want. I'm not sure he'll be back any time soon."

"Really? That would be genius!" the girl seemed really happy.

Tobey put the computer down and took a pen and a notepad from the desk. "So?" he asked.

The girl looked at him confused. Only after a moment of silence did she realize what he had meant. "Oh... You thought I wanted to tell him something... No, no, no. I want to _show_ him something. Since he's not here I thought I'd show it to you."

Tobey raised his brow. This girl was confusing. She didn't seem accustomed to normal life style. She gave of a feeling of newness. Her tone of voice was somewhere between polite and kind and despite her weird behavior Tobey felt he really liked her.

"I'm Zoe Bluebird," the girl approached him with a smile.

"Tobey Magpie."

"We're two birds, how cool!"

Tobey smiled at this. Despite her appearance she seemed to act like a kid sometimes. He found this behavior quite refreshing. Torchwood wasn't exactly the cradle of maturity but it still required everyone to be professional when the time came.

"So where is this thing you want to show me?" he asked and immediately condemned himself for asking. He didn't want Zoe to leave so quickly.

"I think you should get your coat, Tobey. That and maybe something to pick locks."

"Wait, you want me to break in somewhere?" the technician asked shocked.

"Oh, come on, like Jack doesn't do that all the time!" "I am so gonna get scolded for this," Tobey said knowing that sight-seeing and breaking into buildings didn't qualify as 'being available for information'. "My salary is so going down..."

He considered his last sentence. He had already gotten his first paycheck and thought that even if he had a cut he would surely be able to live on it.

"Just let me get my stuff," he said and disappeared behind the door to the Hub. After taking the elevator down he went past the cog wheel door and headed towards his workplace.

"So this is Torchwood," he heard from behind his back and jumped.

"You are not supposed to be here!" he said seeing Zoe casually sight-seeing the most secretive place in all of Cardiff.

"What does this do?" the girl asked picking up a flat oval-shaped object with weird spikes going away from each of the four sides.

"Wait! Don't touch that!" Tobey panicked. "It's actually a-"

He didn't finish as the girl already pressed a button and a white flame appeared on the surface of the object.

"A torch..." Tobey finished glad that the girl didn't get hurt. "I think that it reveals a surface that in contact with one of the compounds in the air releases- Don't just take it with you!" he protested seeing how the girl had already pressed the second button deactivating the fire and put the torch into the pocket of her skirt.

"It might prove useful," the girl explained herself.

"What exactly do you want to do with me?" Tobey asked starting to feel discomfort.

The girl smiled. "You'll see..."

Tobey grabbed his PDA from the desk as well as his bag and guided the girl out. "I can give you a proper tour when we get back if you want," he said hoping that when it came to it Jack would already be here and he wouldn't feel so guilty about letting an outsider in.

Zoe smiled but Tobey was sure that it wasn't the carefree smile he saw before. It seemed as though she was genuinely sad for a moment. "Sure," she said.

o*o*o

Kate was half way to Diana's house where they would all prepare for the party. Her handbag hid a make-up kit and a bottle of wine she stole from her parents' stash which she knew wasn't enough but she couldn't afford to bring any more. She heard that her mother had taken notice of the missing bottles. Kate always took the cheapest ones which they could afford to lose and would not risk her theft being noticed. Not that she liked alcohol. But if she didn't drink that pint of beer or glass of wine she would become a laughing stock among her friends.

Diana was waiting for her in front of the Polish grocery store and they both exchanged greetings.

"What happened today?" Diana asked still bearing a grudge at Kate skipping school alone.

"I told you, I wasn't feeling especially well so I went home," the girl explained herself.

"Well you do look a bit pale. Keep an eye out for Maria though, she's still touchy about you getting to miss English Literature today. It was sooo boring!"

"Look who the cat dragged in," Maria said coming out of the shop. "Where were you today? Beardy was going on and on about Byrot or somebody."

"I think it's Byron," Kate remarked nonchalantly.

"Whatever... Not like I'm ever picking him up."

"Of course you're not..." Kate's whisper was so quiet nobody took notice of it.

"You got the beer?" Diana asked. "We're already running late."

"Yeah, let's go," Maria shifted forward with Diana by her side leaving Kate to follow closely behind.

The girl hesitated. She had heard millions of times that she was hanging out with the wrong crowd and maybe she was. Sometimes she couldn't help but agree. Just because she read a few books and studied a bit she was sometimes considered an outsider. She was certain that whenever she was away those two were talking behind her back. Well, Maria was probably the one doing most of the talking. If it wasn't for Diana Kate wouldn't even hang out with the half-polish girl.

"Oi, guys, wait for me!" she said wondering if what she was doing was the right choice considering what had happened to her that morning.

o*o*o

Martha had been in a car with Jack driving several times before. She had never liked the feeling. Traveling on the Tardis was bumpier than riding with the Torchwood leader but somehow less dangerous. Jack constantly changed the lanes, accelerated, decelerated and somehow managed to avoid so much as a scratch. But this reckless driving seemed only proof of Jack not fearing death. Well, he was immortal so she could consider that an excuse.

Right now the speedometer was way over the speed limit and Jack passed the crossroad not even bothering to slow down. They barely made it on the orange light.

"Are you trying to kill us?" Martha asked finally.

"I thought we needed to hurry," Jack said casually.

"We're not even sure Kate Wingard will be there. Gwen and Lois said she wasn't at home and since nobody answered the phone Tobey found they can't figure out where she is. Even if we reach the school there's no guarantee we'll find her. Gwen and Lois have the house monitored. At some point she'll be returning there. Until then we can try and avoid a car crash don't you think?" Martha said.

Jack obediently slowed down. He knew what his colleague was trying to say. If Kate Wingard was to escape them she would've done so already. And if she was at school there was small chance of her leaving even if they got there a few minutes later.

They arrived at Lland Secondary School parking lot within minutes. The building where Kate Wingard attended was a concrete block with a colourful graffiti of the name of the school in the front. There were a few tags and drawings overlaid on the sign but "Lland Secondary School" bravely stayed readable and catching all attention.

"Martha, ask around for this girl, I need to contact the Hub first," Jack ordered and put on his ear-piece. Once Martha left he tried contacting Tobey but the technician was not answering.

Instead he called Ianto who picked up within seconds of the call going through.

"Ianto, just the man I wanted to hear!" Jack greeted him.

"Well, you called me, sir, how can I help?" the coffeeboy asked.

"How's your investigation into Skippy's whereabouts going?"

"Well, I'm driving around the neighborhood trying to find a place where it's possible he might hide. I searched for sightings of him and all of them were in the area where the attack took place so this is where I'm hoping to find him."

"Great, also, if you happen to contact Tobey tell him next time he doesn't answer he's out of this job."

"Right... I haven't contacted him but if I do I will tell him. Sir..."

"Yes?"

"When this is over I need to seriously talk to you about something..."

Jack disconnected. What could he say? I don't want to talk to you? That would never work. Right now he could only stall the conversation. He left the car looking for Martha.

She was talking to a girl not too far away, with the photo of Kate Wingard in her hand.

"I haven't seen her today, she probably ditched school again," the blond haired student said. "But I can't tell you where she is now. Did she do something wrong?" the questioin was judgmental rather than of concern.

"We believe she might be in danger," Jack explained. "That's why it's crucial we find her as quick as possible."

"Are you the police?" the girl asked curious.

"Not exactly but quite close," Jack said now completely taking over the questioning.

"Well I guess you could try at the principal office, they should give you her address," the girl said unsure.

"We already had an agent checking there and she wasn't present at her home. Do you have any idea where she might be?"

The girl hesitated. "I heard there's an outdoor party today. You know the type, elite only. She might be there but I can't say I'm entirely sure she will be. You can try. It's down by the old railway bridge, there's usually nobody there so parties are often organized there. But I don't know myself. They're not exactly the kind of crowd I hang out with. It should be starting around seven, maybe eight. Until then, I can't say I know where she might be. And the people she usually hangs out with had already left so... Can I go now?" the girl seemed worried about her current situation.

"Yes, of course," Martha said and the girl walked on forward, quite stiffly and anxiously.

"So that's all we got?" Jack asked.

"I asked a few other kids but they didn't know anything," Martha answered hiding the photo. "Listen, I think it would be better to go back to the Hub, I could finish the analyses on that substance we found and we would be able to keep updated if another incident occurs. Gwen will keep us updated if anybody appears by the house."

"Yeah, I guess we could do that..." Jack wasn't glad about riding all the way to this school only to return to the Hub with no results. "We're leaving in the evening. Until then I want to know all there is to know about this alien. And it better not attack again..."

Martha could see the frustration growing inside Jack. She didn't know what exactly caused it but she was sure it had something to do with Ianto but most likely not only him. Even the driving seemed more reckless than usual.

Once they were back in the car she couldn't help but ask.

"Jack, is something wrong? I know you're the type to bottle everything up but you can tell me if something is happening..." Martha said. She knew she was right. Gwen might have been with him longer but it didn't change the fact that Martha shared something with him that none of the Torchwood members did. Traveling with the Doctor created a special bond between people.

"Ianto is asking questions," Jack said quietly. "Not to mention this whole incident. It's quiet, no rift activity and all of a sudden this thing appears. Five deaths within less than twenty-four hours. Something tells me this is not a coincident. I can't help the feeling that I'm being toyed with..."

Martha smiled. "Whoever is responsible we'll get them, Jack. You know we will... And Ianto will be alright so don't worry about him. He can take care of himself. Maybe it's better if you told him everything? Including your relationship with him."

"Telling him is a huge mistake."

"So is letting him find out on his own."

Jack didn't answer. It was already too late. If he was to explain to Ianto his entire past Ianto would hate him. He knew that. But if Ianto found out by himself then Jack felt it would be even worse. All he could do is hope that this would remain a secret.

"I'll think about it," he said.

"Jack, let it all play out... We've been to the end of the world and back, do you think a little parasite alien will harm us?"

"I don't fear the alien, it's just a pawn. What I fear is who is behind all this," Jack said quietly. He remembered the letter he got from Zoe. He couldn't help feeling that this was part of what she had warned him about.

* * *

><p>Hope you enjoyed it! Yes, I liked Zoe too much to just let her go like that :<p> 


	14. Episode 4: Part 3

"You can't drive a car...?" Zoe asked with disbelief. They were driving on the bus trying to get to the building Zoe named.

"Well... I never had a need for a driver's license," Tobey explained. "And once this job came along I never found the time. So I can't drive a car, I've never sat behind a wheel. I only use the bike or go by bus. I'm trying to be eco-friendly."

"Does Jack know?" Zoe laughed. This was unexpected.

"I'm not sure but I don't think so. I wonder what would happen if he did know... Driving didn't really come with the job description but I guess it was an obvious thing."

"So what else don't you know?" Zoe asked.

Tobey blushed. "Why are you assuming I can't do things?"

"Well you don't seem like the action type. And you're not the fittest person on this planet."

Tobey became very red. Yes, he couldn't disagree. He was a bit of a wimp, with zero muscles whatsoever but nevertheless he was quite agile and he proved himself to be useful in a few "weevil situations". He did start training once he had joined Torchwood but he knew strength and speed didn't come immediately. But he guessed he could turn this situation into a nice joke. Plus, he wanted to get it off his chest.

"So, I've never fired a gun," he said. "Also, I know everybody accepts it as common place but all those weevils and everything make me so terrified I can barely move. Sometimes I feel like I don't really belong there."

"Well right now, you're here with me going blind into the unknown," Zoe said with a smile.

"Yeah, and disobeying Jack entirely," Tobey added with an already given up voice.

"I think this is exactly the reason why you belong there," Zoe said. "When this all finishes I'll tell you a secret and Jack won't be able to do anything to you."

"We're here," Zoe said, cutting his pondering short. They left at the bus station and walked a few blocks further conversing casually. Tobey noticed that his life was the main topic and whenever he asked Zoe something she answered in a very roundabout way, practically avoiding his question. But he wasn't especially worried. After all there was going to be a chance to meet her again, right? She wouldn't just disappear of the face of the Earth suddenly.

The building they were headed to was a tall office block. On the side were names of several companies out of which Tobey recognised only one: "Granollio", his cereal brand.

"Interested in muesli?" Tobey asked joking.

But Zoe was not in the mood for jokes. She was looking around cautiously; Tobey noticed her gaze was directed at the security cameras. He turned on his PDA but the building security network was not present. Obviously it wasn't a wireless one.

"Come on," Zoe guided him inside the building not caring about their looks obviously not fitting the "business" image of the place. Zoe's short skirt and blue hair and Tobey's brown tweed jacket were definitely not suited for this place. "Now, look confident and bored," Zoe whispered.

"Excuse me," the man behind the desk right by the door stopped them. "This building is off limit to visitors. May I ask if you have an appointment?"

"We're waiting for our dad," Zoe explained sweetly. "He's treating us to dinner today and we were supposed to meet him here today."

"If you want I can phone him, what floor does he work on?" the receptionist asked.

"Fifth floor I think, for "Morgan and co." but I don't want to bother him so we'll just wait here," Zoe started looking around obviously trying to communicate to the man that they wanted to sit somewhere.

"Oh, there's a waiting area over there, please take a seat," the man pointed at an area a few meters away by the huge windows.

Zoe smiled. "Thanks," she said kindly to the man. "Come," her voice changed to annoyed as she dragged Tobey towards the waiting area like an annoyed older sister would. Zoe sat closer to the reception desk obscuring the view for Tobey.

"We didn't really achieve much did we?" Tobey said. "Now we're stuck here waiting for our non-existent father?"

"We can always make him up. Can you hack into the system and phone him up posing as our father?" Zoe asked with a confident smile. "And you'd have to do it fast, I think any minute now that man might phone up security."

"I'll see what I can do," Tobey asked. So this was what she meant by breaking into a building. He couldn't tell whether he felt safer or more at risk in this situation.

His PDA was great, it was small and could always pose as a toy. But its functions were boundless. It had originally belonged to Toshiko Sato and oh, the wonders it could do. Tobey only copied the operating system and programs onto a smaller device with bigger memory which he found more comfortable to use. With the help of this device he could easily break into any network.

Tobey accessed the personnel files and then found the landline to the building. He fetched his phone from his bag. There was one missed called from Jack. How did he miss that? He asked himself and got worried. He knew he was in trouble now for ignoring Jack's call. But before he could call back he had to take care of this. He dialled the reception line and waited.

"This is Robert Reichs," he tried using his mature old-man voice; it sounded fake but he counted on the connection being bad, "I just remembered my kids were supposed to meet me today for dinner. If they come by could you just let them up?"

"Oh, Mr Reichs, certainly, sir," the man immediately complied.

"You will recognize those two little rascals, they're going through their rebellious phase," Tobey continued.

"Of course, sir, I think they have already arrived," the man's voice was unconfident. Those "rascals" were two twenty-something siblings, probably college students. He imagined at this point it wasn't called "rebellious phase" anymore but more of a "bad attitude".

Tobey immediately cut the call and hid the phone. He returned to tinkering with the PDA, trying to make it look like a game console to underline his "bored" attitude. The receptionist left his post and headed towards the two.

"Mr Reichs will see you now, I apologize for the inconvenience," he said with a bit of fear and respect in his voice.

Zoe stood up and poked Tobey to follow him. Once they were behind the closed doors of the elevator they relaxed a bit.

"Do you always improvise like that?" Tobey asked. "That is the last time I'm doing that. What if he caught onto us? We don't exactly fit the image of businessman's children."

"Don't sweat it, if it didn't work we'd just improvise again. There was no other entrance we could use! Anyway, what was that voice? You're a terrible actor! It's a good thing it was a phone call and the connection wouldn't have been so good."

"If I knew I'd be needing to act as a company vice CEO then I would've prepared more."

"Vice CEO? _That's_ who you picked?" Zoe seemed outraged.

"Well if I just picked any person they probably wouldn't let us in anyway."

"Fair point."

"So where do we go now?" Tobey asked. The elevator wasn't exactly moving.

Zoe pressed ten, the last button. "The eleventh floor, that's what I heard. We're going to have to take the stairs to get there though."

"Where did you get this information from, and what exactly do you want to show me?" Tobey asked. This was the last moment for questions. From the moment the door opened they would have to move as quietly as possible and not draw any attention.

"I overheard it," Zoe said. "I'm like you, I'm not supposed to be here. But I can't leave you alone to deal with what's coming either. This may be breaking the rules but it's also the only thing I can do to help." Zoe smiled sadly, "whatever happens in the future, remember, you're not alone!"

Tobey wanted to ask more but the door opened. Zoe suddenly let him onto something and now he couldn't ask anything anymore. He cursed the elevator for being so fast. But he knew that his irritation came from something else. He was scared. Scared of that seriousness in the girl's voice. He glanced at her and she urged him to follow her.

He took a look around the tenth floor. There was a long corridor before him that led to a staircase right at the end. There were two white five-foot-tall walls on either side of the corridor separating it from the cubicles where all the workers were occupied with answering phones or writing reports. The sounds of keyboards, staplers, machines and people talking filled the room.

Zoe made sure nobody was on the stealthily went out and sneaked through the corridor to the staircase on the other end. Tobey followed her lead looking around and leaning so that his hair wasn't visible above the cubicles. He managed to trip over a pot plant but thankfully didn't fall down and make a commotion.

"Can I help you?" Suddenly he heard a voice from behind him.

Tobey turned around feeling all the blood leave his head. The man was a tall skinny, stern-looking type who obviously took no pleasure in seeing Tobey's attempt at sneaking.

"I was looking for Mr Murro's office," he cursed himself for the name choice. Unfortunately the alien's unusual name was the first thing that entered his head. "I was told it was on the ninth floor?"

"This is the tenth floor, sir."

"Is it? I must've pressed the wrong button then," Tobey tried laughing but what came out of his lips was far too nervous to qualify as proper laughter.

"I don't believe anybody would be so stupid as to press the wrong button and not notice it beforehand. Furthermore, sir, there is no Murro working on the ninth floor."

Tobey smiled crookedly. Obviously this person didn't share his "amusement". He looked around nervously. There was nothing he could use to get out of this situation. "Wait a second, I've got a pass," Tobey lied trying to buy time to think. But there was nothing to think about. There was only one thing he could do.

Tobey ran down the corridor with speed he never expected himself of reaching. He crashed with the door to the staircase behind which he knew Zoe was waiting for him.

"Quick, run!" he said after running into her arms. They made their way up the stairs and onto the eleventh floor. The corridor there was empty. Unlike earlier everything was hidden behind doors. There was no time to think about where they should go. They rushed into the first room.

"What are we doing here?" Tobey asked. "This is the ladies!" He was eyeing Zoe who obviously cared much less than he did.

"Shsh!" she shushed him and they both listened to the sounds coming from behind the door.

There seemed to be nothing yet. But they both knew they had little time before security guards would start searching every floor, even this one. Plus, Tobey was sure they had been caught on at least one security camera on the way here.

"So what do we do now?" Tobey asked.

"They will kill us if they find us," Zoe said. "Were we normal trespassers we'd just get caught but we obviously know about something here, on this floor which puts us in a troublesome position."

"You really know how to comfort people," Tobey said with a bit too much irony hinting inside his voice.

The girl who dragged him here now seemed almost as clueless as he was. They both didn't know what they should do now. He looked around for something that could help them. There was nothing and he was almost sure that someone was quickly approaching. He knew that a big part of the sensation was his paranoia - security wouldn't be so quick to reach this floor but reason told him they have barely a few minutes.

The room was a spacious with five lavatories and several cabins. He didn't notice any rooms to hide in and obviously occupying one of the cabin was out of the question. That's what he thought at least but when Zoe rushed him into one. He had to squeeze inside and stand on the toilet so that his legs wouldn't be visible.

"Torchwood, eh?" Tobey whispered annoyed. This was definitely not in the job description. He hadn't done this sort of thing since ditching lessons in high school. He looked for Zoe. She was not with him. "Zoe?" he asked quietly.

"Shshsh!" he heard from a cabin next to him.

"But-" he couldn't finish.

The door to the ladies opened and he heard voices. "Do you really think they would hide here?" one of them said.

"Doesn't hurt to check," the second voice and they proceeded to check the cabins one at a time.

Tobey's heart started beating faster. It seemed like both forever and a tiny moment before they opened the door next to him. He heard Zoe's scream. He thought fast. He regretted the doors opened only to the inside. He could've hit them with the impact. Instead he had to fight.

This was Tobey's first proper fight. His previous fighting experiences could only be called "beatings" and he had always took the role of the bullied. He stormed out of the cabin and run into one of the security guards. The man let go of Zoe but instead caught the technician. Tobey desperately kicked him in the shawl and punched him with his free hand in the stomach. He was surprised he didn't miss. This gave him freedom and a few moments to think about what he should be doing next. He freed Zoe from the arms of the second guard and they both ran out onto the corridor.

There wasn't much time to think about where they should hide so they picked a door at random. It was somebody's office and they found themselves faced with a surprised man in his forties staring at the intruders.

"You're not supposed to be here," he said with a bit of hesitation.

"Believe me, this is the one place we should be," Zoe's desperation was visible in her voice. They heard the security guards opening one of the doors outside. Thankfully, they didn't notice into which room Zoe and Tobey had gone. "Quick we need to hide!"

The man looked around the office but saw no place fit for them to go. Tobey was much quicker. He pushed the man to the side along with his office chair and took Zoe with him under the desk. Only seconds later just as the man returned to his former place behind the desk the security guards opened the door.

"Did a pair come inside here?" one of them asked. "A girl with blue hair and an average looking boy?"

Tobey decided to ignore the remark about him looking plain. There was too little time in their situation to think about it.

There was a moment of silence. The man behind the desk glanced down and saw Zoe's large eyes begging him to lie. He shook his head.

"I think... I think I heard something next door, though," he lied unsurely.

Once they were alone Zoe and Tobey crawled from under the desk. They were panting loudly, both from the fight and running and the stress.

"Thanks," Zoe's voice was full of relief.

"Well that was all I could do but you can't hide here until they go away. And you can't go outside. What are you going to do?"

Tobey knew exactly what they should do. But there were questions to be asked first. And he felt like this man could have the answers to them. "What is going on here?" he asked. "Why is this floor 'secret'?"

The man looked at him sternly. "I'm not authorised to give that kind of information to anybody," he said. Tobey saw a change in him. For some reason he was sure that this wasn't the same person he was talking to just a few moments earlier, the distressed and confused worker incapable of dealing with stress situations. No, this was somebody else, a man desperate to protect the information he had.

The man opened his shelf and procured a handgun. Now, he was desperate to kill them.

Tobey gulped. He was never faced with a gun before. Yes, he worked for the police and yes, he worked with Torchwood but he had never been in a situation where he could die of a single shot. He cursed himself for not bringing anything with him. He didn't have a gun or any weapon that would somehow protect him. That's what he thought at least. He did have one thing that would protect him. He had Zoe with him.

"Now, now," she said calmly. "There's no need for that..."

Tobey glanced at her with panic in his eyes. What was she doing? Was she ever before in a situation like this? He didn't find it hard to imagine. Otherwise how could she be so calm?

Zoe took a step forward. "Put the gun away and we won't have to resolve to violence."

The man didn't budge. He held the gun stiffly in his hand, desperate to show his will-power. His confidence seemed overwhelming.

It was at that moment when Tobey realised why he didn't feel befitting Torchwood. It was the worst moment possible for a realisation like that but as he thought it would be his last he didn't mind it. He didn't have the self-confidence everyone in Torchwood had. Even Ianto who had lost his memories and was probably more confused about the situation he had found himself in than Tobey was seemed more sure of himself than the technician. _If I come out of this alive, _the technician thought,_ I will have to change that._

He noticed Zoe take another step, the man pointed the gun at Zoe.

Step, the man's grip on the gun tightened.

Step, the finger gently squeezed the trigger.

Step, the man closed his eyes.

Tobey's eyes widened. Zoe was defenceless. Unless he did something she would die.

Step...

Tobey grabbed the first thing he had close to him and smashed it against their oppressor's head. He never knew a stapler held such power. The man lay unconscious on the chair with the gun sliding of his hand.

"What was that?" Tobey asked still whispering.

Zoe smiled at him. "I knew you wouldn't fail me. You wouldn't leave a girl in distress to her fate, would you?"

Tobey didn't know what to say. He didn't imagine he could ever be used like that. But now was not the time for to think about that. "I know I'm asking this for the hundredth time but... what do we do now?"

o*o*o

Gwen and Lois waited in the car, both of their eyes fixed on the girl's house, occasionally wandering down the road to see if she wasn't approaching. It was a very boring part of the job and Gwen would've gladly exchanged it for an afternoon at home with Rhys and Alex but that was impossible. She was now in Torchwood so she didn't get maternity leave. And although she knew that Jack would've gladly given it to her it was her own decision not to mix her personal life with work and avoid favours. She felt compelled to be there. She felt that Torchwood wouldn't do so well without her. It wasn't because she didn't trust the new recruits' skills but more because she found herself hoping she could guide them and teach them about the ways of the extraterrestrial. Or something like that. And of course Ianto. She couldn't leave him alone with Jack for both their sake. Both seemed unable to properly cope with the situation between them although they kept putting on a front that they were fine.

Gwen stopped thinking and focused on what she was really supposed to be doing. She glanced at the house - nothing. The street - nothing. In front of the car – nothing. She took another look around when something caught her eye. There was a man standing right in front of Kate Wingard's house, barely a few meters away from their car. He was staring at it with a sort of twisted amusement which Gwen couldn't understand. What struck her the most was that she remembered him being there, he had been there ever since they arrived. But for some reason s?he hadn't registered him. Only now he had moved and caught her attention.

He had a long black coat on and a violet neckerchief wrapped around his neck. He had a mane of pure black hair. He didn't fit into the neighbourhood at all yet Gwen hadn't noticed him before at all. She knew this feeling from somewhere. It was the same as with the invisible lift. For some reason that person wore a perception filter or something that had the same effect.

Now he was talking on the phone and Gwen rolled the window down slightly to hear the conversation.

Everything's in place then?" he asked the person on the other end. "I see. I'll head back to the office."

He disconnected without a word of good bye.

Gwen glanced at Lois. She hadn't noticed him.

"Lois, can you stay here and wait for Kate to come back?" she asked, seeing the man get into a black car. "There is something I need to do and I believe it's important. If anything happens make sure to call me and Jack, OK?"

"OK, tell me if you find something on your end," Lois said. She had also noticed the man and was following him with her gaze. She left the car and let Gwen follow the black car slowly.

Before long Lois' waiting had also paid of. Standing on the other side of the road, opposite of Kate Wingard's home, she noticed the door opening. Her breath quickened but the person who came out was neither the girl nor her parents. It was a little boy, probably eleven years old, dressed in a far too big coat. He had a long face with a mass of black locks on the top.

Lois approached him quickly. "Hi," she said leaning over to match his height.

The boy looked at her scared. "My sister told me I shouldn't talk to strangers," he said although it was obvious that he only used that rule when it was convenient. The spark in his eye told Lois that he was much more mischievous than he let people on.

"I want to find your sister," Lois said trying to sound caring. "Me and my work mates believe that she might be in danger and we want to help. We are sort of like police," she added seeing that the boy didn't believe her.

"If you're police then where's your badge?" the boy was much smarter than Lois had expected.

"I just started working today so I haven't got one yet," the Torchwood newest member said. "But you have to believe me when I say that your sister might be in danger," Lois voice changed from child-friendly to desperate.

The boy's face changed. His piercing blue eyes showed hesitation. It was obvious he was considering telling Lois something.

"I'm going to look for her myself," he said. "She said she was going to a party which I think I know where it is. If you want to help my sister then I'm going with you."

Lois smiled sadly. "I'm sorry but I can't allow that. What if something happened to you?"

"I don't care! I won't tell you unless you take me along! Even if you tell me to stay I will go!"

Lois considered this option. She needed this information. And if he was going to go anyway then she might as well protect him.

"OK, but will you answer some of my questions?" Lois asked standing up. "Lead the way..." she hesitated. She didn't know his name.

"I'm Travis," the boy said. "And as for the questions... It depends on what you ask me."

"Ok then, Travis, I'm Lois Habiba. Now first tell me where we are going."

o*o*o

Gwen saw the black car drive onto a parking lot under one of the office buildings in the centre of Cardiff. She followed it and managed to catch a glance of the man as he was coming out of the car. She took out her mobile and took a quick photo of him for future reference.

He was unusually tall and his mane of hair was pure black with no signs of grey hair. His facial features were sharp, he had a straight and pointy nose as well as distinct, thin eyebrows right above his small eyes. His cheek bones were slightly visible and combined with his long pale face and pointy chin made him look very menacing. Gwen couldn't see much more from the distance and in the dim parking lot lights but she was sure that the man was young.

There was an older man meeting him. They moved quite fast and in between the cars it was hard to catch a glimpse of them. She only managed to see a bold patch on his head where grey hair should be.

Finally the two disappeared near the elevators. Gwen considered her options. She couldn't really follow or interrogate them based solely on her instinct. And she didn't want to risk catching him on her own. She decided to wait and perhaps she could find a chance to ask him several questions when he would be coming back.

She parked her car close to the entrance and turned on the music. She might as well enjoy the waiting. And it wouldn't hurt to call Rhys... And then maybe Jack...

o*o*o

Ianto's search had proven useless so far. He had spent the entire afternoon searching and it was now beginning to get dark. All the places where a large flying dinosaur could hide proved to be empty with no signs of animal occupation. There was only one place left and he didn't find it quite probable. It was an abandoned warehouse right by the sea with a collapsed rooftop. From the Torchwood database he found out that it was also a home to Cardiff's many weevil "mobs".

Ianto couldn't say he was prepared for a meeting with a weevil, not to mention tens of weevils. He had his handgun in his holster and a sedative for the pterodactyl. He also hid a bar of chocolate in his jacket pocket in case the note about Skippy liking dark chocolate was true. He sincerely doubted it but he preferred to be ready for everything.

Ianto parked the car in front of the warehouse and headed to the side entrance which he hoped wouldn't make the weevils notice him as he went in. He preferred a quick quiet entrance and exit rather than being followed by a number of weevils and possibly not coming out of the meeting alive.

The stench reminded him of weevils: rotten flesh mixed with blood. He put his one hand on the door handle and with the other reached for his gun. He turned the handle and gently pushed the door open.

There was an overwhelming screech and Ianto found himself standing face to face with a giant, millions of years ahead of its time pterodactyl. _Skippy_, he thought. Whoever gave him that name definitely didn't give him a closer look.

The giant flying reptile noticed Ianto upon the moment when the man entered the warehouse.

I'll be heading back then," Ianto said going back outside and closing the door behind him. He only heard the giant beak hit the metal door behind him.

_This is mental_, this was the only thought going through Ianto's head. There was no way he could do this alone. He turned on his com and contacted the Hub.

What have you got?" he heard Jack's voice.

"This thing wants to kill me!" he shouted. "Where are you?"

"I'm with Martha and we're looking for the girl. We got a confirmation from Lois of her possible whereabouts. We might get her this time."

"So, you won't help me then," Ianto didn't hide the annoyance in his voice.

"If you find Tobey then you can get him to help you but everybody's busy. Lois is heading towards where the girl is and Gwen has got a lead on something suspicious."

Ianto closed his eyes. "Great... And I bet this case can't wait, can it?"

"Top priority, Ianto," there was hesitation in Jack's voice. Ianto could hear the worry for him mixed with concern about what would happen if they left the animal unattended.

Ianto readied the syringe and opened the door once again. He found himself staring into the dinosaur's fiery green eyes. His first instinct was to faint but when he didn't he found himself wondering what he had been doing in Torchwood that he wouldn't lose consciousness in a situation like that. With a series of click and clacks the animal slowly reached out its head towards Ianto.

The man was sure that any moment "Skippy" was going to kill him, break him in half and eat him while he was still screaming. But it didn't. It just stared at him expectantly. Moving its gaze between his eyes and his chest. But Ianto did nothing and the animal soon ran out of patience. It screeched once more, spitting saliva at the terrified man. It poked Ianto's chest with its beak several times. Until Ianto finally understood.

"The chocolate?" he said unable to believe his own words. "You want the chocolate?"

He took the candy out and unwrapped the bar slowly. He couldn't even throw the chocolate towards the animal for it took it out of his hand by itself before he could even notice. Soon the animal moved back several meters away to properly feast on its sweet catch.

He knew this was his chance. He took out the syringe and slowly approached the dinosaur at the same time looking around and making sure that nothing else was coming at him. Weevils were gone and he was sure that a few of the corpses lying next to the rumble at the other end of the warehouse belonged to those savage aliens. The dinosaur made its nest in the middle of the warehouse on a pile of rubble next to the giant hole in the ceiling which obviously served as the front door now. There was orange sunset light coming through the giant windows right under the ceiling as well as the gap made from the collapse.

He took a few steps forward towards the pterodactyl which occasionally looked around and hissed at shadows as if they were creatures ready to steal its prey.

Ianto was almost there, ready to inject the syringe with the sedative into the animal when the dinosaur shrieked. The man took a step backwards surprised. Before he could even notice if there was anything the pterodactyl might've reacted to Skippy flapped its wing and took off making a turn behind Ianto. The man was already convinced that the case was lost when he suddenly found himself five meters above the earth and still rising.

At first he closed his eyes. He felt Skippy's claw wrapped around him quite gently. He was surprised at this as he was surprised at the fact that he hadn't yet found himself dead. He opened his eyes. The view quickly passing before his eyes of the sea and the city of Cardiff overwhelmed him. He knew he was the first person seeing all this from a pterodactyl's view.

* * *

><p>Another part done! The next one concluding Friends and Foes should be up on Saturday! Thank you all for reading and thanks to Ash-Varnei for betareading :)<p> 


	15. Episode 4: Part 4

Jack and Martha parked on the empty street near the old railway bridge. Upon exiting the car they heard music – obviously the party had already started. Lois had phoned them up earlier to tell them where the brother assumed Kate Wingard's whereabouts were. She was still not here but there was no time to waste on waiting. Especially if what Martha had discovered about the alien was true.

The substance released by it was almost lethal. It caused nerves near the skin to stop working and a person no longer could feel touch, temperature or pain. Movements become harder as it is difficult to analyse the area surrounding the damaged tissue. There had been no time to create an antidote so the best chance Martha and Jack had at stopping the parasite alien was by acting fast and not letting it touch them. They were still unsure how the substance was released.

The two operatives headed onto the meadow and quickly found the group of grown-up looking half-drunk teenagers sitting on the grass or dancing to the beat of a Beyonce song. Locating Kate wasn't hard. Although she could've been described like probably all of the girls there as wearing too much make up, her round face and raven black hair made her easily recognisable. But first it was important to get rid of all these people. Having all those people here was just too troublesome.

Jack walked up to the small speakers with an iPod connected to it. The teenagers looked at him with a feeling of disgust as he passed between them and the half-empty bottles standing next to them; he was an outsider there. Some times he heard giggles and comments like "who's dad is he" or "who invited this freak". He almost stopped when he heard spiteful comments about his coat but decided to leave it. Instead he pushed his ways through the crowd and without a moment's hesitation turned the speakers off. All eyes except for Martha who was looking at Kate were suddenly on him.

"The party's over, get your things and leave and I won't call your parents," Jack said.

"Come on, man, we're just trying to have some fun!" he heard a voice from somewhere in the crowd.

"I won't repeat myself, if you've got problems come here and tell me them directly." Jack's firm voice met with no denial.

With complaints on the tips of their tongues the group of teenagers took their things and walked in their own directions. Only a few remained ready to face Jack. Among them was Kate Wingard. Except she didn't stay because of the party. She was looking around with a panicking look in her eyes searching for something. Martha glanced at Jack and indicated the girl. The Captain's gaze turned to Kate.

Jack knew what was going to happen. "Everybody get away from her!" he shouted at the few people standing near her looking concerned for her.

Kate screamed as the black substance spilt from her arm and enveloped itself around her hands and arms. By the time it got to her head the eyes were already blank. But it didn't just stop at surrounding her body. The substance rose and formed its own head with one black beady eye staring hungrily at the people. Kate's body was just a base for the parasite's own figure. Jack took out his Webley revolver but the arm of the monster had already caught onto one of the people. A blond girl had been stabbed with the alien's claw and tossed aside. Martha rushed to her side. So did a dark-skinned girl.

Everyone else ran away and in seconds the field was empty. The only people left were Jack, Martha, Kate and the two girls. Without any obstructions in the form of protesting adolescents Jack could easily aim and shoot at the creature. The bullet went through making a whole in the alien but the black mass quickly closed it. The alien didn't even react.

Jack saw the alien moving towards Martha and the two girls. He was certain of its aim. It hunted out the weakest prey. He quickly shifted to where his colleague was.

"Martha! How's she doing?"

"She might get through this but I can't be sure," Martha was tending to the blond's wounds.

"I might have to kill the girl. We have no way of securing the alien. We can only hope that it grows weaker without its host."

"No you can't do that!" the black girl shouted desperately. "She's my friend!"

"Would you rather it killed you?" Jack said harshly. This was why he hated having other people around when he was working. They usually got this stupid idea that he was trying to save everybody when his aim was completely different: to protect the Torchwood secret as well as the extraterrestrial creatures and objects and to keep everything under control. None of that necessarily included saving people.

He shot a bullet aiming at the girls limbs hoping to weaken the alien. But the alien protected its host by absorbing the bullet. Jack went for the chest and stomach later but these didn't work either.

"Damn it! We need a distraction!" he said. "Martha, if I could get its attention, would you be able to-" he didn't finish. The look on the dark girl's face distracted him. She was staring at the sky her eyes and lips open wide in shock.

"What's that?" she shouted pointing towards the air.

"Jack, that's-!"

The creature in the air flew down and just as Jack turned around to see it something heavy fell on him. When he opened his eyes he saw Ianto's face dangerously close to his own. He smiled now that their roles had been reversed.

"I see miracles happen twice," he said as Ianto attempted to raise his body. Too weak and hurting to do that he just rolled over freeing Jack from himself.

The Captain stood up and saw an unusual scene. The pterodactyl was fighting with the alien in the air, attacking with its claws and at the same time trying to avoid the creature's touch.

"Jack, quick!" Martha shouted.

Jack shot. Kate fell back blood gushing from her chest

The black mass shrunk into a tiny ball leaving the body of its host. Before it could find another host a white light appeared and swallowed it. Jack furrowed. He saw it too many times to mistake it. But this was too good a timing to be true. The rift didn't just _help _them like that. He tried figuring out what could be the reason for this strange phenomenon but a quiet moan brought him back to earth from his pondering.

Ianto was already sitting up holding his chest. He was thankful to Jack for being there and breaking his fall but he was still hurting. First the claws pinning into him whenever he started to slide down during the flight and then the landing. He now knew why people always said that landing was the hardest. Be it in flying a plane or being kidnapped by a dinosaur.

"Ianto Jones – the man of the hour!" Jack said looking at him.

Ianto glanced at him. He didn't really feel like it with his bruised chest and spoilt suit.

Before he could give any witty comment they heard a desperate shout.

"Sis! Oh no! Sis! Kate," there was a boy running towards the corpse of the girl with remarkable speed.

"Travis, wait!" Lois voice echoed on the field. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop him," she told Jack when she reached them.

"What did you bring him here for?"Jack asked harshly.

"He wouldn't tell me where to go and..." she stopped under Jack's judgemental stare. She felt pity for him being left alone and on top of that if the girl really lost her consciousness she thought that the presence of her brother might have been a help, an anchor to reality. And of course, she had never expected the girl to die.

"Jack, she didn't know it would end like this," Martha came to her rescue.

"Now on top of taking care of those kids we'll need to hassle with this guy," Jack was clearly irritated.

As if to prove Jack's words the boy now run to them and with his fists started hitting the Captain's chest. "It's all your fault!" he shouted in between sobs.

"See what I mean?"

Lois hugged the boy tightly. "I'm so sorry, Travis," she said. "I never thought that it would come to this."

The brother gradually calmed down as he was sobbing into the girl's shoulder.

"Ianto, I want you to take care of the memories and press for this and the pterodactyl attacks."

"What about Skippy?"

There was no sign of the dinosaur. Busy with the alien they didn't notice when Skippy had gone.

Jack sighed. The main problem was gone but there was still so much work to do.

o*o*o

Tobey and Zoe waited quietly hoping that nobody would find them. For Tobey it was a first. He had always thought hiding in ventilation shafts was what they did in cheap action movies but apparently it worked for Torchwood as well.

It took some time until the commotion stopped. Nobody was looking for them anymore. At least that was what they were hoping for. Now they were sitting in almost complete darkness, the only light coming from Tobey's turned on PDA screen.

"Do you know where we should head now?" Tobey asked.

Zoe shook her head.

"Can you get the blueprints for the building through the network?"

Tobey glanced at Zoe. "I doubt it," he said. "And I don't think it would matter if we don't know what we're searching for."

"Yes, I guess it won't be visible in the blueprints..."

"So are we just going to check all the rooms?" Tobey asked and for some reason he knew the answer was going to be:

"Yes."

They moved down the shaft "sneaking into" each room and listened if there was anybody inside. It seems everybody had already left and they could easily check what was inside which room. At the third room Zoe gasped.

"I think this is it," she whispered as they were glancing down the open shaft. They lowered themselves down, Tobey first to help Zoe afterwards.

The room was spacious with no windows, only lights which were left on. Other than that it looked like a fancy office room. There was a desk with a power mac and several shelves with books and folders. It differed from the previous rooms they were in in that there was artwork on the wall and it was a slightly bigger office than the others. There were two doors, one going to the hallway the other probably leading to some archive room or simply a closet.

"The information should be on the computer," Zoe said.

"We're looking for information?" Tobey asked, finally getting some truth from Zoe.

"I think so," the girl's voice was uncertain. "He said there would be a painting of Galaxy 28 on the wall there so I think this is it."

Tobey glanced at the framed oil painting of what could have looked like space. How Zoe knew what particular galaxy it was remained a mystery to him. He preferred not to ask.

"Are you sure the information will be on the computer?" Tobey asked.

Before Zoe could answer they heard movement on the corridor. The girl pointed at the closet and they quickly rushed there barely avoiding a meeting with a tall man with raven black hair.

The room was much more spacious than they imagined. They could easily stand there without needing to squeeze in between coats and suits. In fact there were no clothes at all. Tobey took out his PDA and the dim light of the screen illuminated their surroundings. No, it wasn't a closet. It was another room. Tobey recognised the big metal boxes with lights and cables to be a computer or several such stations. There were two screens connected to them. Tobey approached the computer and turned the two monitors on. One of them showed a custom user interface but the other caught Tobey's attention more. He saw it before, he had seen it every day since he had started working at Torchwood. It was a rift activity monitor.

Zoe tried the other screen but a password window appeared. "Tobey?"

The man glanced at the monitor and looked for a USB port somewhere on the desk next to the monitor. He found one quickly and connected his PDA. He then found Tosh's password decoding program and quickly tapped in the result that came out seconds later: "Kate16". He accessed the computer.

He looked at the folders on the desktop. None of them looked special but one icon caught his attention. The caption underneath read "Project: Harkness". Jack's last name was Harkness. This couldn't be a coincident. He double clicked it and a window popped up. Among several documents saved inside there was also an execution file simply named "Rift". Tobey swallowed. He opened the program.

"What's that?" Zoe asked but she wasn't refering to the window that appeared on the screen. She was looking at a capsule in the corner of the room that had just lit up.

"It's a rift controlling device," Tobey explained. Facts were coming together forming the truth: a hidden room, a program called "Rift" a device that turned on the moment he opened the file? Not to mention all that being stored in a folder called "Project: Harkness". There was no doubt it was a rift controller. "Basically a teleport and a time machine in one," he explained for the first time seeing the rift from this point of view. Before it was just a phenomenon that randomly took things and creatures and placed them in Cardiff or some other place in the galaxy. Now that it could be controlled and its actions were no longer random "teleport" and "time machine" seemed like perfect descriptions. The idea scared him. "Even Torchwood can't control the Rift!"

"Shut it down then," Zoe said firmly.

"I'll copy it first," Tobey said and dragged the entire folder "Project: Harkness" onto the PDA. He checked through the files. This was worse than he had expected. At first he thought that this was unconnected to their case but it turned out that this kind of thinking was wrong. The girl, the parasite alien, this place, it was all connected. It was all a test. A simple test if the rift-controller worked. He knew Jack had to see this.

But he also realised that maybe he could use the program to reverse the transfer of the alien into the girl. If he could do it in time then maybe he could help this Kate.

Tobey searched through the program and found the log for this morning labelled "test 1". The transferred objects seemed to be tracked and reversing the process was automatic. Nothing too complicated only one command. Tobey pressed the button "reverse" and waited. Nothing but a loading bar appeared. Once it was full a message "operation finished" was printed on the screen.

"Is it done now?" Zoe asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Tobey said still looking at the screen. Nothing appeared in the capsule which only meant that either nothing happened and probably wouldn't for some time or there was another post like this somewhere. He glanced at the screen but none of the folders looked to contain such information. He disconnected his PDA and turned to Zoe.

"I think it's-" he didn't finish.

The girl having procured a steel pole from somewhere smashed it into the rift-controller.

"What are you doing?" Tobey panicked. "And where did you get _that _from?"

If the sound of smashing equipment wasn't enough to make people outside the room aware of their presence Tobey's shouting did. They heard movement in the other room and Tobey quickly packed his PDA. They needed to run. But Zoe didn't budge just yet.

"Move over," she said and when he was hiding in the other corner of the room she swung the pole destroying both monitors at the same time. At that moment door opened and a tall man came in accompanied by another slightly shorter with a mane of grey hair and a patch of baldness on the top.

"What are you doing?" the taller man asked and moved forward in an attempt to catch the girl.

But they were not quick enough to stop Zoe running the metal pole into one of the computers. Before Zoe did any more damage and got caught Tobey grabbed her hand and they both ran out of the room, barely managing to pass by the two men trying to catch them.

"Stop!" one of them shouted after them.

Tobey and Zoe ran with all the strength they had in their legs. They hunched and covered their heads as they heard shots being fired from behind. One grazed Tobey's arm but the adrenaline prevented him from feeling the pain. The two ran down the hallway and reached the door to the staircase. Tobey, his hand already on the handle, saw a hole appear on the door unbelievably close to his fingers. Without a moments hesitation he opened the door and urged Zoe to go first.

Their descent was quick but with each turn they were sure they would see the guards approaching from the bottom. Somehow they managed to reach the ground floor without any problems. When they ran onto the giant hall the alarm went off.

They saw everybody's eyes turn to them. The building was almost empty but there were two guards next to the door and the receptionist was still behind his desk.

"You!" he mouthed his face twisting into pure anger. "Get them!" he ordered the two bulky security guards.

Their escape route was cut of. There was no way they would get lucky twice and escape without getting caught. Tobey quickly analyzed their options. There was no way they would make it to the front entrance and he didn't see any emergency exit. But they could still go lower. There was a parking lot under the building. He rememebered an entrance to a parking lot right next to the building. Plus, the staircase still stretched to lower levels. He pulled Zoe back and they descended to the very bottom.

This was not much help. He knew that within moments the guards would be on their backs. And he was sure that there were a few people guarding the parking lot as well so he had probably just doubled the number of their enemies. For the time being they seemed to be safe.

They stopped in front of the door to catch their breaths. It was only for a short moment for they were back running towards the exit within seconds. They were almost there when a bright light blinded them. A car had almost hit them. The sound of the klaxon soon followed.

"Get in!" Tobey heard a familiar voice and without a moment of hesitation entered the car with Zoe. They squeezed on the back seat breathing heavily as Gwen made her way out of the parking lot.

"Thank god you were here, Gwen!" Tobey said after calming down a bit. "How did you know we would be here?"

"I didn't, I was following somebody," Gwen's voice was quite harsh. "You're in a lot of trouble with Jack. He phoned me up at one point and said you abandoned your post."

"Oh that..." Tobey remembered that getting out of the office building. "I think he won't mind it after he sees what I found."

"Who's your friend?" Gwen asked looking at Zoe in the rear-view mirror.

"I'm Zoe Bluebird," the girl smiled. "Sorry for getting Tobey into trouble."

"I can't imagine it being your fault," Gwen said kindly.

They dropped Zoe off on the Roald Dahl Place. Tobey stood for a second next to her unable to say good bye. "When will I see you again?" he asked. There was no answer. He was afraid of this. "Will I ever see you again then?" he corrected himself.

Zoe's smiled but there were tiny sparkles of tears in her eyes. "I honestly don't know," she said. "Listen can you pass a message to Jack?" she asked.

"Sure, no problem," Tobey said.

The girl have him a peck on the cheek. He widened his eyes surprised. "Tell him 'Zoe says hi'."

"OK..." Tobey said still a bit overwhelmed.

Zoe smiled and kissed him again, this time passionately on the lips.

Tobey even more shocked raised his arms aimlessly not knowing what to do. Finally when he decided to hug her and return the kiss the girl pulled away.

"Who was that for?" Tobey asked.

Zoe giggled. "Good bye, Tobey."

She ran off.

"See you later!" Tobey shouted after her unable to part with her completely.

"That's Torchwood for you," Gwen said with a sad smile.

She was standing just a few meters away leaning on her blue Honda.

"What do you mean?" Tobey was already returning to the car.

"Romance is short in Torchwood," Gwen said.

o*o*o

"I thought I ordered you to be on stand-by," Jack said, his voice stern ready to reprimand the technician.

"I was but then," Tobey didn't know where he should begin.

"I can vouch for him, Jack," Gwen said trying to help.

"OK, then, tell me what happened that you weren't available when needed," Jack said, still a bit reluctant in forgiving the rookie.

Tobey then went on to relate his adventure with Zoe not omitting any of the relevant facts. He finally ended with Zoe running off on the Roald Dahl Place.

"So, do you know her?" Tobey asked once finished.

"Yes, if she's who she says she is then I met her once not too long ago," Jack answered. "And it also means we probably won't be hearing from her again."

Tobey tried his hardest to hide his disappointment. "Were you and her... involved?" he asked for the sake of his own peace. Putting his own jealousy aside he found himself thinking about how wrong would that be. If he had to start with something he would take the age difference into consideration.

"No, it was only a brief meeting," Jack said not even knowing how much he was reassuring the technician.

Tobey looked sideways. If there was so little chance on meeting her he felt obliged to do what she had asked from him. He closed his eyes tightly and placed a tiny, short peck on Jack's cheek.

"That was from her," he said imagining how red he must've been right now.

Jack couldn't help the whimsical smirk and Gwen put her hands to her lips to hide the smile and stop herself from laughing.

_Great_, Tobey thought. It was his first time kissing a guy ever and they were all taking it as a joke.

"Thanks," Jack said concealing his chuckling with a very unrealistic caugh. "But Zoe aside have you got the files downloaded from that computer? I can't believe somebody would have the technology to control the rift before us!"

"Oh, I have it right here," Tobey took out the PDA from his bag. He turned it on and quickly accessed the files. But the moment he opened the folder "Project: Harkness" the screen turned black and a video turned itself on.

Gwen and Jack quickly approached to see it.

"That's the man I saw in front of Kate Wingard's house!" Gwen noticed. "He is involved in all of this after all!"

"He's also the man who tried to kill me back at that office!" Tobey added.

The image of the man moved. He opened his lips, "Tough luck Jack!" he said. "It's never supposed to have been this easy. The game goes on, Jack. That's two for me and zero for Torchwood. I'll give you a little hint though: my name is Longrass, I think you've heard that surname somewhere, don't you think?"

The screen turned black and several cracks and sparks came from the PDA making Tobey immediately drop the fried device.

"Two?" Tobey asked. The two senior operatives looked at him dismissively as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Oh..." the technician realized. "The bunnies... But it didn't give him absolutely anything! Why did he do that?" There was the look again and once again Tobey understood what was the answer to his own question. "To test us... To find out more about our team."

"What was that about, Jack," Gwen asked changing the subject to what she thought was more important. "Do you know him?"

"Longrass was his alias back in the old days," Jack said. "I worked with him."

"Is this that Time Agency business? Don't tell me it's connected to your brother again."

"No, this has got nothing to do with Grey. I have to think this through," Jack said. "It's late, and I want you to be punctual tomorrow. There will be lots of work to do."

"You're doing it again Jack," Gwen said. "I can't help thinking that you've never stopped."

"Doing what?" Tobey asked confused.

"Keeping secrets," Gwen explained. "Never think you know everything about this man. There's always something he's not telling you."

"Is that something wrong?" Tobey couldn't understand what Gwen was trying to say. He had always kept to himself and secrets were always unavoidable. "Maybe he doesn't want to disappoint anybody," Tobey voiced his thoughts accidentally. He regretted it instantly but still felt that it could somehow be helping Jack's case.

"Tomorrow I want you all here at nine," Jack cut the discussion short. He was glad for Tobey's protection but Gwen knew enough to know that that wasn't the reason why he kept his secrets. He kept them because they were dangerous. And although Gwen was right that sometimes if he had only voiced his concerns several dangerous situations could be avoided, if he did say what was on his mind everything could've gone even worse.

o*o*o

Tobey stretched out as he finally finished deleting all the entries connected with the alien parasite incident and the pterodactyl. Everybody had been extremely busy cleaning up all the evidence of Torchwood's existence, beginning with press and internet, ending on witnesses' memories. Today he knew that Jack had given retcon to the last two people who had seen the pterodactyl. He knew that one of them was the wife of the attacked man and he could've only imagined how hard it had been on her. Could this really put her mind at ease?

He had finally repaired his PDA but the entire disc had been wiped clean and he couldn't even find the tiniest file from the "Project: Harkness". The folder was protected by the virus against copying and no evidence of Tobey's find remained. Neither on the PDA nor in physical form. Their raid the day after Tobey's break-in provided no new evidence. The entire eleventh floor had been cleaned of any proof of the rift-controller's presence. Even the bullet holes in the walls and the door mysteriously disappeared. Tobey was amazed at the speed at which it all had been done. It hadn't even been one entire day and there was nothing left.

He noticed Jack was in an irritated mood which could only be soothed by Ianto's miracle coffee. Tobey took a sip from his own cup.

He remembered their conversation about secrets. He had a few of his own. He opened the internet browser. He made sure nobody was looking and typed in "driving course Cardiff" into the search bar.

o*o*o

The notebook fell on the desk with a quiet _thump_. Jack looked up from his seat and saw Ianto staring intensely at him.

"What is it?" he asked taking the notebook in his hands and shuffling through the pages. It was the same one Ianto had been hiding when he found him in the archives.

"I want you to tell me what this is," the office-boy demanded. "Someone suggested I should just confront you about what was inside instead of investigating on my own. So I want to hear it from your lips. Why would I ever write a '_diary_' of '_your deaths_'?"

Jack put the notebook back on the table. "You tell me," he said. "You've already looked inside haven't you?"

Ianto shook his head. "It's your privacy. I won't force myself into your life without your consent. But I have seen your name on one of the graves in the cemetery."

"Lots of Jack Harknesses in the world," Jack said. "Could've been anybody."

"Except it wasn't. It was you. I don't need that notebook to figure it out."

Jack looked up. "So you've figured it out already?" he asked. He smiled. He could easily tell when Ianto was lying and right now it seemed that he may have had suspicions but nothing concrete. "You haven't got a clue have you?" he said.

"I just want to know want to know what's so important you would go to such lengths to protect it. I just hope when it comes to it it won't turn against you. That's all."

Ianto left without a word of goodbye. Jack stayed engrossed in his own thoughts wondering if he should've just told Ianto everything. Or at least most of it. But he liked it better this way. He knew Ianto would give up now. Or pretend to, anyway. That was what he liked about him. He did his job no questions asked and never nosed into what was not his business. But this time he was connected to it all, believed that each fact brought him closer to getting his memories back. And Jack feared that it would.

o*o*o

Travis looked around everywhere but refused to have his gaze fall on the coffin his sister was in. Her death still hadn't reached him and he didn't really pay a lot of attention at the funeral. His mother's hand was holding him firmly, otherwise he would've just run away.

He looked around the people gathered. Most of them were his family but he also recognised a girl, Kate's friend Diana. He didn't like her. He didn't like any of his sister's friends. But he preferred her to the other one called Maria. She was stuck in the hospital after getting hurt in the same accident his sister was killed in. He wished it was her who died in the accident and not his sister.

He looked further beyond the graves. He saw a man in a black coat with pure black hair much like his own. And then he suddenly remembered what had really happened that day. His sister's death was not a traffic accident. It wasn't an accident at all. Tears flew down his face. She was shot by that man. In his mind he called him all the worst names he could imagine. Some he didn't even know he had learnt. He didn't know the man's real name but unconsciously he remembered one word which he knew was the reason for this tragedy: "Torchwood".

o*o*o

Jane woke up in her own bed unable to remember how exactly she had reached there. It had been three days since her husband's death and two days since she had met that weird dark-haired man. She recalled his name. Mr Longrass he had said he was called. She remembered what she had been doing before falling asleep and she remembered that strange man calling himself Captain Jack Harkness. He had given them - she recalled being with Sarah - a drink and then she fell asleep. It was exactly as the dark-haired man had predicted. Jack Harkness had expected her to forget but the pill that she received from Longrass counteracted with the drug. She still remembered the pterodactyl and the Captain. The man was right. It was all their fault.

Longrass called them "Torchwood".


	16. Episode 5: Part 1

So, next episode is up :) Unfortunately, I'm shortening the parts... well... significantly. Uni is just behind the corner and I'm slumped with work and preparations. But I'd rather do releases more often than have weeks of breaks so that's why the releases will be shorter from now on. And who knows? Maybe I'll manage to write a bit more soon and start releasing longer parts? :)

Anyways, here's Ep 5 The Ambassadors. Hope you like it :)

* * *

><p><strong>Episode 5: The Ambassadors<strong>

Gwen hadn't slept so peacefully in days. The rush from the last mission had already gone, everything was properly archived and put away. Jack forced a short holiday on her and for the past few days she had been able to focus on her family properly. Plus, for the first time in a long while she could go on a date with Rhys. They had hired a girl to babysit and had had the whole evening for themselves. She couldn't help feeling it was a bit like in the old days - before this whole Torchwood mess.

But although Gwen's sleep was peaceful and relaxed her wake-up wasn't. She heard glass smashed in the kitchen and jumped on the bed. Within seconds she was up shaking Rhys trying to wake him up as well.

"Just a few minutes..." her husband mumbled still attempting to sleep.

Gwen tried again, "Rhys I think I heard someone in the kitchen," she said.

It worked immediately. Rhys opened his eyes and searched for the baseball bat hidden under the bed. Finally when he procured it he glanced at his wife. Gwen was already loading her handgun and within moments they were tiptoeing down the stairs - the ex-cop barely producing any sounds and Rhys... well Rhys wasn't that good at sneaking. Gwen glared at him a few times, her eyes wide with fear and anger, mouthing "quiet!" shushing him.

Once down, they took positions on both sides of the entrance to the kitchen. Gwen had her gun ready. She pointed at the light switch which was on Rhys' side and the husband nodded. He counted to three, turned on the light and they both stormed inside. They halted immediately, Rhys with the baseball bat above his head and Gwen with her gun pointed at the intruder.

The "intruder" much unaware of the danger he was in started giggling.

"Alex!" Gwen tucked the gun away and quickly hugged the baby and took him in her arms. There were glass shards shattered on the floor but nobody else was around. "How did you get here?" The mother held her child close to her chest.

She nursed the child but looked at Rhys and pointed her head towards the exit of the kitchen. The man went around the rest of the house but found no signs of intrusion. There was nothing stolen either. He returned to the kitchen to see Gwen still standing with their baby. Her worried face turned to him and for a brief moment he saw Gwen holding their son with one hand and pointing a gun at him with the other. Only when she saw it was Rhys did she lower the gun.

"There was nothing," the man said. "Nobody came in or out, nothing's stolen or moved."

"He's not even two months old, Rhys, how would he come down here?" Gwen asked.

"I don't know maybe the babysitter left him there?" Rhys asked.

"We checked up on him when we got back, remember?" Gwen quickly rebuffed his argument. "Maybe..."

The mother put the baby down away from the glass and watched Alex crawling to Rhys. There was silence in the room. Rhys and Gwen looked at each other.

"Rhys, when did the book say kids started crawling?" Gwen asked with a hint of disbelief in her voice.

"First words, usually no sooner than the fourth month, crawling sixth to twelfth month," Rhys recited.

Any normal family would be overjoyed. To have a baby so smart it denied statistics. But when both parents had dealt with aliens and the supernatural before they couldn't be blinded by their parental instincts that quickly. Rhys picked up Alex and Gwen quickly found the telephone.

"Bloody Torchwood," Rhys muttered as Gwen was dialing the Torchwood Institute.

o*o*o

Ianto didn't enjoy being woken up in the middle of the night. But with Jack gone he was responsible for answering all the calls made to Torchwood outside of working hours. And after having sent a busy tone twice the caller still didn't stop calling so Ianto took into consideration the fact that it _might _be something important.

"Bloody americans," he muttered. After all who else would be so inconsiderate as to phone somebody knowing it was four in the morning in their time zone. _Everyone_, he answered his own question.

To his surprise the caller was Gwen. He didn't even have a chance to say hello when she started speaking.

"Jack, Alex has started crawling!" she said but instead of content there was panic in her voice.

"First of all, this is Ianto," the man said trying his best not to sound sleepy or disoriented. "And... congratulations... I guess..."

"This is not the time to celebrate, Ianto! He's bloody two months old! Children don't do anything when they're two months old!" Gwen didn't even change her tone of voice.

"Well, if you want to contact Jack he's out of town for a couple of days," Ianto said unmoved by Gwen's panic.

"Out of town?" Ianto recognized Rhys' voice. "What do you mean he's bloody 'out of town'? Since when?"

"Yesterday. They're investigating an alien murder in London I believe," Ianto said.

"Well then tell him to come back this moment!" Rhys said.

Ianto imagined himself hanging up. He sighed knowing he couldn't do that.

"I'm afraid I can't help you now. Like all normal people Jack is probably sleeping right now. You should be too. I doubt you could do anything in the middle of the night..."

There was silence on the other end, the kind that makes you feel something bad is going to happen.

"Ianto..." Gwen's voice was unusually sweet as she stretched his name out. He started guessing in his head what was going to be Gwen's request.

o*o*o

Mark Storey enjoyed a peaceful Friday night in Camden. The customers were plenty that night and he made a little cash for his next big project. He stood on his usual post between the old record shop and the Trimmed Bonzai pub. Once the crowds shrunk to a couple of drunks passing by every fifteen minutes or so he knew he could close down the business for the night. He was already getting ready to leave when an unfamiliar face came by.

"You Age?" the person asked. The face was hidden in the shadow of a hood but the voice was obviously female.

Mark looked at her. Age was his pseudonym as a drug dealer. This could mean only one thing: a customer.

"Yeah, I'm Age, need anything?" Mark asked. "What are you interested in? Light? Hard?"

The woman grinned. He could see her white teeth, now gray because of the lack of light. "I'm not interested in any of that."

Mark looked at her nervously. That was never a good sign. He tried guessing if she was a cop but there was nothing about her that could tell Mark whether she was an officer or not.

"I've heard you deal another kind of drug... the Tiger?"

Mark smiled. His reputation was growing. He was the only one supplying the Tiger because he was the only one who could make it. The recipe wasn't what one could call "earthly". A monopoly on something was always good for the business. And he could remain independent. Soon he would have enough money to get out of this dump and sell properly, not just on the street.

"Who told you I deal the Tiger?" Mark asked out of sheer curiosity.

"Fornish."

Mark blinked. This wasn't right. Only he knew about Fornish. Or more like only he knew his real name. Fornish, also known as Dave Reichs was not exactly of this Earth. Yes, he was an alien and Mark could never understand the specifics of his origin. The names were a bit too hard for him to pronounce and Fornish's technical jibber-jabber difficult to understand. But he knew a recipe for a very effective and addictive drug and that was all the encouraging Mark needed to help him in this new world.

Now he wasn't entirely sure if this connection was something good. The strange woman's tone of voice seemed menacing and there was something about her giving him an aura of peril. Mark thought it better if he denied anything.

"Must be a new customer, I've never heard of him," he said.

"Might I refresh your memory?" the woman took out her phone. It took her barely a few seconds to find the right picture.

Mark vomited upon seeing Fornish's dead body in a pool of blood - all his and all coming from the hole in his forehead. He looked up and saw the woman already brandishing a gun and casually checking if everything was loaded: ammo, check; silencer, check; gun loaded, check.

Mark ran. He ran like he had never ran before. He glanced around trying to see if there was anybody who could help him. But despite his desperate cries for help none of the few people still strolling the street turned their head towards him. What was this magic? There was a woman with a gun in the middle of the road and suddenly nobody cared? They pay to see that in cinemas! This was the real thing! If they just turned around they could see a real thriller in the making! And help him!

"Somebody help me!" he cried trying to get somebody's attention. He almost ran into a person but the girl just walked pass him as if he didn't exist. By now his mind was a mess of swear words and all kind of SOS words some of which he never thought he'd learnt.

Mark turned around for a brief second. He was already quite far away and the shot still hadn't come. The woman was pointing straight at him, her casual stance making it seem like practice.

He heard a bang and closed his eyes tightly. He saw darkness. And then there was nothing.


	17. Episode 5: Part 2

Ianto couldn't believe he had to be here in the middle of the night. Well the sun had already risen and it wasn't much earlier than he usually arrived but seeing as he only needed to keep an eye on the Hub he saw no need to wake up at ungodly hours anymore. Not to mention he still wasn't entirely well. Although the colors returned to his face and he had stopped looking like a walking corpse he still felt that he wasn't entirely well. Unless he got a good night's sleep he was exhausted and there were times when he felt weak. He never told anybody but he knew that it didn't skip the attention of his all-knowing boss. Also, he was certain that everybody was cursing him for that healthy diet of his. Their organisms needed pizza, chinese take-out, a kebab or some indian curry but all unhealthy fast food was prohibited by Jack. For the time being.

He got everything going and tidied the whole Hub knowing that Gwen would be here any moment. "First thing in the morning" he negotiated with her but what she didn't know was that although she would get another two or three hours of sleep he needed to be an hour earlier to get an update on the latest news and prepare everything accordingly. His job was meticulous and hard and most definitely not as rewarding as Gwen or Jack's but he didn't complain. Yes, he avoided most of the action but somehow working in the shadows always seemed to satisfy him more. There were times when he wished to get involved in the action like his co-workers but then he remembered his death. That and the cold darkness of the coffin.

The cog wheel door rolled open and the couple with their baby went in. Ianto couldn't help but protest.

"What is he doing here?" he asked looking at Rhys.

"Hey, I have as much right to be here as do you!" the man protested. "It's my baby too!"

"Where's Martha?" Gwen asked not bothering with a fight.

She knew Rhys was on the border of bursting with rage. He had always thought her returning to Torchwood was wrong. Up until now he had accepted it. She didn't have long hours and Jack was responsible enough to leave her off most dangerous missions. Only when he was short on staff and there was something more important did he call her. And Rhys really approved of the forced holiday he made her take this week. But this had all changed. Now his son was behaving unusually and he was quite certain that it had to have something to do with Torchwood. It was always Torchwood: whether his wife had appeared alien-pregnant on their wedding day or he had had to be a Cardiff escapee getting away in a truck full of potatoes.

"Nobody's in town at the moment," Ianto repeated the message he had received earlier. "I'm left taking care of the place."

"Wait, nobody's here?" Gwen asked.

"Jack went with Tobey, Martha and Lois to investigate a case in London," Ianto explained. "He thinks there's a connection between several recent murders Lois reported. By connection I mean Torchwood-slash-alien connection. Jack left me in charge of Cardiff for the time being," he added. In view of the recent standstill this didn't really mean anything.

"Oh he picked a perfect time for this investigation thing," Gwen complained. "Like he couldn't wait a day or two? When did they leave again?"

"Yesterday," Ianto said. "After they caught wind of another one of those murders."

"What do we do then? I mean I can't use any of those devices. Can you, Ianto? No! What happens now? Ianto!" Gwen's voice turned from a high-pitched panicking and mocking voice to harsh anger.

Ianto closed his eyes and sighed. He hated this part. Him getting all the blame for what was in no way connected to him. To Torchwood, maybe but even that didn't seem to be certain.

"You could try doing what every normal person would do in a situation like this..." Ianto said and Gwen turned to him, suspicious and confused. "You know, go to the doctor's?"

o*o*o

Jack parked the SUV on the normally busy street of Camden town. Right now it was almost empty the only people random passer-bys and policemen. It was too early for the crowds to flock the streets and the shops were not allowed to open until the policemen had their way.

The four Torchwood members made their way towards the red-and-white tape marking the boundaries of the crime scene.

"This area is off limits due to an ongoing investigation," a policeman stopped them entering the crime scene.

"I'm Captain Jack Harkness and we're Torchwood. We're taking over," Jack said confidently but the officer didn't budge.

"I don't know no Torchwood bollocks so unless you have official permission I can't let you in," the man said.

"Don't know about Torchwood, oh, I missed this," Jack said the smile on his face broadening. The Cardiff police didn't even put up a fight anymore but London was something completely different. He missed the challenge. "Lois," he said letting the newest member take over.

The girl searched her wallet and finally found the card. "Ministry of Defense officer, Lois Habiba," she introduced showing the card. "I have level two access clearance and a permission from the General to conduct my own investigations which allows me to grant access to this crime scene for Torchwood."

"Basically she's your boss's boss," Jack concluded and went on leaving the policeman baffled.

"Where did you get your hands on _that_?" Tobey asked the girl making sure none of the police officers could hear him.

"I worked in PR, sometimes you needed special access," Lois answered with a smile.

"Good work. OK, Martha, I'll leave you to it," Jack said letting the girl approach the corpse.

The Captain approached one of the policemen and after exchanging greetings and names asked him about the investigation so far.

"The victim's name is so far unknown. He was male, approximately twenty-six years old. The body was found this morning around eight by a man commuting to work who says he tripped over the victim. So far no witnesses were found. Looking at the body it's obvious this was a murder. The shooter probably used a silencer as non of the people living in this area heard any shots."

"You don't find it suspicious at all?" Jack asked.

"Suspicious?"

"The victim has been lying here the entire night and nobody noticed it? On a Friday night?"

"True," Martha added still kneeling next to the body. "The body has been here for at least five hours."

"Everybody's drunk on a Friday night they might've thought he was just passed out," the policeman tried reasoning.

"In a pool of blood? I don't think so. And this morning, how come they nobody noticed him? Only after that man tripped did he realise there was a body lying in the middle of the sidewalk. He was certainly not the first one walking down this street. Martha, what can you tell me about the death of this man?"

The girl stood up and looked at the body. The man was lying in a strange position on his front, face twisted to the side revealing a broken nose and dead wide-open eyes. The body was dressed in a big overcoat. Strands of brown hair were glued together by dried blood which had gushed from a bullet hole in the back of the man's head. A significant amount of the crimson-red liquid was spilt on the ground.

"The cause of death was single shot to the back of the head, no other trauma is visible. Nose broken probably due to the fall, there are no signs of struggle on the body. Evidence suggests the man was shot here," Martha pointed a spot about two meters behind the body. "This is unusually far."

"He was running?" Jack asked already figuring it out.

"Looks like it," Martha said. "The momentum propelled him forward. I see no other possible explanation."

"He knew he was in danger," Lois concluded.

"Exactly my point," Jack said. "He would probably shout, try getting somebody's attention. There's no way this street was empty during the time of the murder. But they didn't see him. They didn't even hear him. The fact that there were no witnesses is not because there was nobody there but because nobody could see or hear him."

"How is that even possible?" the policeman asked.

"There was _something_ in the air," Jack explained with a smile. When he heard no follow-up from his team members he added: "_Something_ in the air? Tobey?"

"Oh, right!" the technician noted the command and immediately took out his PDA. After a moment the results came out on the screens. "The readings look normal to me Jack," he said. "Although wait... There're traces of a weird substance I've never heard of. It's not in the database. But it's disappearing. And very quickly. And... it's gone!"

"That was probably it," Jack noted. "Some sort of hallucinogen. Have you got the chemical structure?"

"No, it was all mumble-jumble. The readings only said "unknown compound". But from what was analysed so far it looks like its carbon-dioxide based. It seemed to bond with it at least."

"That's fine," Jack said and proceeded to check the body.

"Wait, you're contaminating the evidence," the policeman protested seeing no gloves on Jack's hands and nonchalant handling of the body but his cries were futile.

Jack turned the body over and searched his coat. There were drugs hidden in the inner pockets of his coat and he took them out. He then licked his finger and tasted all the drugs one at a time.

"Speed, amphetamine, cocaine," he named each and every powder and pill. Once he got to a bag with a powdered drug that consisted of orange and black granules he smiled. "Oh, he's connected alright," he said. "We're done here," he added and proceeded to the car.

"Wait, that's it?" the policeman asked.

Jack looked at him acting surprised. "Do you see anything else we should do?"

The policeman looked at him dumbstruck not really wanting to answer the question.

"Exactly. So you can do what you have to do here, get evidence, clean up, whatever you want and then transfer the body to the morgue. But you don't need me telling you what your job description is, do you?"

"Err... no, sir," the policeman saluted the captain uncertain of what he should do.

He didn't have to worry for long because soon enough Jack was gone along with his coworkers.

"What was that anyway?" Tobey asked him once they were already in the SUV.

"Have you got an ID?" Jack ignored the question.

"Yeah, easy," Tobey said deciding that his boss would answer his questions when he wanted to anyway. "His files were in the database and the facial recognition program did the rest. Mark Storey, convicted drug dealer. Apparently not affiliated to any drug syndicate. His alias was Age and he specialized in dealing with a drug called The Tiger - that being probably the thing you tried."

"It's called Bug, if you translate it from the original language," Jack said. "Gives you a hell of a kick and is heavily addictive. You can't even begin to imagine the things you see after you take it. But after you take it you're not as depressed as with all the other drugs. The "morning after" doesn't come. There's no hangover, no suicidal thoughts, everything is as if you had never took it."

"Sounds convenient," Tobey said. "So, where are we heading now? To search for other people connected with the drug?"

"The morgue. To see all the other connected murders," Jack explained.

"How do you know they're connected?" Lois asked.

"That drug, the Tiger, it didn't originate on Earth."


	18. Episode 5: Part 3

The wet windows of Gwen's blue honda distorted the reality outside making it into a blurred painting distorted(try using another verb here, repetition doesn't really work well here) only by the ripples formed by falling raindrops and strong wind.

"I can't see a bloody thing!" Rhys said leaning over the driving wheel to make something out of the blurred road before him. Even the fast moving wipers were no match for the torrent of pouring rain.

"You could've let somebody else drive," Ianto noted deadpan.

"Hey, who put you in charge, eh? Pretty-boy?" Rhys said annoyed. "I may not be one of your bloody Torchwood team but that doesn't mean I can't drive my child to the bloody hospital!"

"Stop it! Both of you!" Gwen shushed them from the backseat. Just as Ianto thought she might really want them to make up she added: "You'll wake him up!"

"It's always like this, let them join Torchwood and they get all high and mighty!" Rhys complained. "What happened to you Ianto? You were so polite when you stayed at ours and suddenly this!"

_Maybe I don't enjoy being woken up in the middle of the night_, Ianto thought.

"It's that bloody Torchwood! Everything is about Torchwood these days isn't it?" Rhys continued.

"You're the one who came to me on the first sign of trouble," Ianto retorted.

"Cause everything started with Torchwood! First Torchwood ruins my wedding now there're(not a word. Split it into there are) problems with my kid. It's all because of this bloody Torchwood!"

Before he could continue a weep came from the backseat. A weep which quickly turned into a loud cry.

"See what you've done?" Gwen hissed. She picked the baby up and started soothing it. "Don't worry little one. Daddy and uncle Ianto are just having a tiny argument but they'll make up soon."

"Yeah, sweetheart, nothing to do with you, everything will be all fine," Rhys added in a cheerful voice.

They finally made it to the clinic after having constant crying accompany the last bit of their journey. Ianto left first and opened the door to Gwen who after getting out reached out for the baby-cart. Having covered it with the rain foil she took it out and rushed to the entrance. Ianto followed and Rhys only appeared inside the building after having parked the car.

"Do you have an appointment?" the lady at the reception asked.

"Er, no," Gwen said with a troubled smile.

"Actually I phoned in earlier," Ianto interrupted. "It's under the name Cooper."

"You did? When did you manage to do that," Gwen said amazed at her coworker's organisation skills. She could've sworn they had been together the whole time and yet he still managed to surprise her.

"There it is," the receptionist said. "Take a seat and Doctor Wilkins will see you in a bit," she added pointing at the waiting area.

There were two other people waiting: a mother with a toddler who was constantly rushing about. But they didn't have to endure the noise for long. The kid was called up almost immediately after Gwen and the two men sat down on the comfy black leather seats. While Gwen and Rhys occupied themselves with settling Alex down Ianto tried desperately hard to remember where he had heard the name Wilkins before. He knew it was quite recently but it wasn't until the Doctor came out of her room to call for them did he remember.

The woman was hard to mistake with her pretty blond hair and smooth facial features. Doctor Wilkins was Doctor Shannon Wilkins - the woman he had met in the Poppy cafe barely a week ago. For some reason he felt embarrassed being seen in this place.

"Ianto," she said with both surprise and disbelief.

"Shannon," he replied unsure of what to say. He could feel the awkward tension in the air. He felt as if his girlfriend had walked on him while he was with another girl - not that it had ever happened (or did(had) it?) but he felt he could relate it to a situation like that.

"What are you doing here?" the doctor asked. He was too old to go to the pediatrician and he had said nothing about having a child.

"Oh, I'm-" for some reason the words hardly came to his lips. He felt guilty of doing something he hadn't done.

Thankfully Gwen came to his rescue.

"Doctor Wilkins? Hi," she said. "Gwen Cooper, Alex's mother?"

"Right I'm sorry," Shannon said. "Come this way," she guided Gwen and Rhys to the check-up room.

Ianto felt it wasn't his place to go in as well. Instead he waited wondering why he had felt so guilty and ashamed at being seen in such a place by Shannon; no, Doctor Wilkins. He shouldn't get attached. He had enough problems with Torchwood he didn't need them with other people.

Meanwhile, Alex went through a thorough check-up by Doctor Wilkins.

"I don't see anything wrong with him," she said handing the baby back to Rhys. "A healthy eight-months-old baby. What did you say you thought was wrong with him?"

Gwen blinked. "Eight months?" she asked. "Alex is not eight months old."

"Well I meant it as an approximation. This size usually indicates eight months of age," the doctor explained herself.

"No, even approximately this is all wrong," Gwen said her eyes wide in fear. "Alex is almost two months old. He was born this March. The 16th of March. It's May now. No matter how you look at it he couldn't be _approximately_ eight months old!"

"As you can see Alex already has his baby teeth," Shannon opened the babies lips. "Babies don't develop teeth until they're three months old. Also a baby this size _cannot_ be two months old!"

"Told you he was growing too fast," Rhys said.

"Not now Rhys!" Gwen reprimanded him annoyed.

"Are you sure-" the doctor started.

"Of course I'm bloody sure he's two months old! I gave birth to him!"

"It's not just the size, it's also the teeth, the moving. This is definitely not a two month old child."

"Can you just wait a moment?" Gwen said her voice a bit too sweet.

"Phoning Jack?" Rhys asked seeing his wife take out her cellphone.

"He's the only one who could have an idea how all this happened. And if he can't tell us then I will bloody kill him. Hey Jack," she said, her voice suddenly turned from angry to sweet. "Am I enjoying my holiday? To be honest not really Jack. No, really... I'm at the child clinic right now- What happened? Well it seems that Alex has grown four times as fast as he should have. Yes, I'm serious. Now, explain to me Jack how the hell is that possible? How could my baby grow four times as fast as normal children, eh, Jack?" She hissed the question with as much anger as she could put into it. Her face changed from sweet to anger back to sweet but filled with irritation. "You don't know? Well- Jack? Wait a second, don't-!" she lowered the phone. "He hung up, said he had work to do."

"Don't tell me..."

"Yes, we'll have to deal with this on our own with only Ianto to help us," Gwen said her voice no more brimming with irritation. She paused an idea popping to her head. She turned to Doctor Wilkins. "You! Can you operate medical equipment?" she asked.

"Depends on the type," Wilkins replied. "Are you talking about an Ultrasound scanner or an MRI?"

"Oh, I don't know! Something along those lines probably."

"Then I think so," the Doctor said oblivious to her immediate future.

"Perfect, you're coming with us then," Gwen said.

"Wait, Gwen!" Rhys interrupted them. "Alex! I think he's trying to say his first word!"

They all surrounded the baby waiting expectantly at the first "mommy" or "daddy" or "story" or "milk" or "candy". But after a moment of some inarticulate baby-sounds what came out of the Alex's lips was unexpectedly different from what they have anticipated.

"Toychood!" Alex said giggling after he did so.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god, Rhys," Gwen said acting a bit as if she was hyperventilating. "Where did we go wrong?"

o*o*o

Doctor Jonas Marinus was not the man he used to be. Not exciting or adventurous or handsome for that matter. His life was not as spontaneous as it used to be, now filled with almost nothing but simple routine. Wake up, shower, coffee, check up the projects, lunch, return to projects, write case files, dinner, read (he read exactly thirty pages every day - no more, no less), sleep.

Today was a little different than usual. Time had finally caught up with him. He felt pressure on his chest, asphyxiation almost. The premonition that something bad was going to happen didn't leave him since last night. The relaxing routine helped him escape this feeling for a while but you can only run away for so long. The not-so-distant past finally caught up with him and the walls of his tiny world of solace crumbled. His breathing quickened, became shallow and his head desperately tried to remove the memory of past events from his chain of thoughts. He rushed to the kitchen and opened the medicine drawer. Finally two white pills calmed him down enough to make him think properly.

It had all started a few weeks ago when he accepted a side job. It was his employer asking so he agreed, but it was illegal and made him feel so self-conscious and worried. His work had never followed the law to the letter but all of his patients - as he liked to call them - agreed to the transplants and operations. This time he had had to perform the operation on a patient who did not even know anything happened. Stealing him from the maternity ward was not hard but not easy either. Yes, the patient was a little boy. That made him feel even worse. But the experiment would not have worked if he chose somebody other than a newborn. And his employers wanted that particular child.

Marinus took out a bottle of wine from the wine cellar and returned to the kitchen. Everything in his house was pristine, ordered and cleaned. He hated it so much but at the same time feared disorganisation even more. In fact, he feared life. He was existing but not living. Being stuck in that routine world of his was the only way he could avoid making another mistake like the one he had made by doing an experiment with .

The wine pouring from the bottle made vibrant shapes before calming down to become smooth and flat as the last drop mixed itself with the rest of the crimson red alcohol. This was the fourth glass he poured. He took all the glasses and put them on the coffee table; one before each of the two armchairs and the last two in front of the two-person sofa. He himself sat in one of the comfy chairs and reached out for the wine glass. It looked as if the table was made out for other guests. But there was nobody expected. The glasses did serve their purpose though. Marinus never liked drinking alone.

He drank the wine slowly, one sip at a time, both savoring the liquor and putting away what was inevitable. He couldn't run away. He had to call his employer some day and finish this agonizing leave of absence.


	19. Episode 5: Part 4

"But I've already filed the paperwork and- and-" The young lady stood by the body of Mark Storey trying her best not to give in to the pressure this strange man was putting on her. She knew that her assertiveness was most of the time equal to zero but she had been trying to work on it for a long time. "The bodies are going to cremation this evening! All the necessary information are in the police records!"

"We just want to see them for a short while so we can do our own research," Jack explained friendly. "The police and us - we're looking for quite two completely different things. Please."

A few minutes later Martha was standing in the far corner of the morgue analysing all of the seven bodies - one at a time. Jack was going through the photographs of past victims - Tobey on the other hand was goofing around on one of the body tables, his feet dangling from the side talking to Lois about various Torchwood-_un_-related things, mainly last night's X-men marathon which they eagerly watched crashing at Lois's place.

"Never took you for a science-fiction-slash-superhero fan," Tobey remarked and smiled as Lois laughed.

"I'd like to turn your attention to our line of work, Tobey," she said.

"Well, yeah... But nobody else is really a _sci-fi fan_, you know? I mean sure, they all like a good science-fiction movie but I can say for sure that none of the others has such a huge collection of science-fiction DVDs. I'd be surprised if Jack had any he doesn't seem to have any hobbies besides his job so it's hard to tell. And he could tone down with commenting about how everything is untrue..."

"Yeah, it's science-_fiction _after all," Lois commented.

"Hey, I can hear you down there," Jack interrupted them. "If you have time to idle about like that you could do a bit of work!"

"What work?" Tobey protested. "None of us has any autopsy-expertese and you won't even tell us what it is that you're trying to find in those pictures. And I can't even get any connection in this basement if I wanted to do research. Even my mobile is dead!"

"If you have nothing to do you can get some coffee," Jack said. "The thing we had this morning could hardly qualify as beverage."

"Welcome to the real world, Jack! You spent so much time in the recesses of the Hub with Ianto making you delicious coffee every day that you forgot how horrible it can be on the _outside_!" Tobey joked. "But sure, I think it's an easy enough job and would save me a bit of waiting. You coming, Lois?"

"Sure!" the girl slid off the table and followed the technician out. They hadn't returned until thirty minutes later but they knew there was no need to hurry. Despite Jack's initial reflex to reprimand them he quickly got bribed by the lunch they brought.

"Jack - chicken and bacon sandwich plus large coffee and Martha - a veggie sandwich with a fruit salad side and a small green tea," Tobey announced passing everybody their respective meals. He himself was happy with a regular white coffee and a large blueberry muffin and Lois picked a croissant for herself and tea with milk.

"How did you know?" Martha asked, seeing how the meal was suspiciously close to what she would've picked for herself.

Tobey smiled mischievously and said nothing. They sat on the tables and enjoyed their meal discussing various reasons why Jack should never have long hair. When the conversation turned to Tobey's forever-curly blond locks the technician quickly changed the subject to something he felt more comfortable in. He found himself faced with two bored people who cared not a single bit about which search engine they used and the third who believed that the Torchwood software was, is and forever would be the best for his personal use. He sighed distorting the awkward silence in which the discussion results. Lois saved him by introducing the ever so safe topic of movies and cinema.

They didn't return to the subject of work until the last drop of coffee (or tea) was sipped and not a single crumb was left.

"Six of the victims are connected to the case and the rest are either coincidences or some idiot copy-cat," Jack said.

"How can you tell?" Lois asked.

"Three of them are aliens, Mark Storey was connected to one of the alien-victims and the other two were obviously killed by the same marksman," Martha explained.

"And there's no doubt he or she is a skilled marksman," Jack added. "The others are just petty imitators."

"See, I wouldn't know that," Tobey commented referring to their previous conversation.

"That's why you're the one bringing coffee and not doing the examination. No offense, Lois."

Tobey sighed but couldn't help feeling quite comfortable. This strange familiarity was what he was lacking when he had joined and now that he was more comfortable around his coworkers such small talk became natural. Even if he was insulted a few times (and he noticed he was most frequently the victim of malicious remarks) he knew these comments were more friendly than hurtful.

"The killer is obviously after anyone alien-related," Jack continued.

"But we knew that already when we headed for London," Tobey remarked. "The three previous murders Lois brought were the reason we came here."

"We can't protect every alien or alien-related person in London!" Lois protested. "If so many were killed so far we can only imagine how many more there must be!"

"That's why we need to get to the source instead of curing the symptoms," Jack said. "We need to find a connection between all these people; one that is not just 'extraterrestrial'. If we let this person continue somebody might notice. And I bet it can link everything back to us, to Torchwood. Especially now that we're investigating this."

"The amount of coverage on these cases is just amazing," Tobey noticed. "Turn on BBC or Sky news, it's the only thing they're talking about. Front pages, headlines, blogs, it's even trending on twitter. _The Deadeye_ they're calling him, with all the shots being precisely to the middle of the head or forehead."

"But it's a bit too much don't you think?" Lois said. "I mean it's unusual isn't it? This has been going on for at least three weeks now and the killings got more frequent only recently. Even with the break in the second week the news were still going on about this _Deadeye_. Even the terrorist attack in Marseille got less coverage than this!"

"So news is one thing," Jack said. "We need to find what else connects these cases. Lois, Tobey; I'm putting you on it. I want a connection as soon as possible. Go back to Lois's apartment and get into the background of every single one of the victims. Tell me if they attended the same preschool or go to the same corner shop, even if they all like a single brand of wine - I want to know everything!"

"Sure thing," Tobey said. "What about you?"

"Me and Martha will stay and examine the victims' remains once more and maybe find a connection there. Contact us if you find anything."

Lois and Tobey nodded and in a matter of minutes were on the Tube heading towards Lois's apartment in Putney.

o*o*o

"This is incredible!" Shannon's voice echoed in the vast spaces of the Hub. She gaped at the Torchwood base which she could never imagined to be right under the Roald Dahl Place.

"Maybe we should've covered her eyes with something when bringing her here," Rhys remarked.

Ianto rolled his eyes. "You're one to talk. You think maybe we should've covered your eyes? There's no need for that sort of thing here. You watch too much bad television, Rhys."

Gwen stared astonished at the weird tension between her husband and coworker. She knew Ianto could be very sarcastic but he had never shown his irritation to people he wasn't close to. And Rhys wasn't a person he would normally fight with. No, she realised, but somebody else would.

"Oh my god, Ianto, you're totally acting like Jack aren't you?" she said. "You miss him, don't you?"

The blush contradicted the answer. "Why would I do that? He's- They're only gone for a few days."

Gwen bit her tongue before teasing him any more. She had forgotten Ianto's memory loss for a moment.

"Anyway, Shannon, it's not usually as empty as this," Gwen said changing the subject. "Most of the team is gone but there's somebody here usually."

"How many of you are working here?" the Doctor asked.

"Sort of five and a half," Ianto answered. "Gwen doesn't check in every day due to her duties as a mother."

"Only six? But this place is huge!"

"It's better this way," Gwen said.

"What exactly do you do then? In this Torchwood. I've never heard about it."

"Extraterrestrial phenomena," Gwen answered truthfully but in a roundabout way.

"You mean you're astronomers? You investigate meteors and such?" Shannon asked clearly getting the wrong idea.

"Among other things," Gwen said.

"But I would've expected there to be a telescope," the Doctor remarked.

"There's no need for telescopes here, Shannon," Gwen continued having great fun in keeping the truth from Shannon - at least for now. It had been so long since she could do this.

A screech cut their conversation short and Shannon stared at Ianto terrified.

"What was that?" she asked her voice wavering a little.

"Skippy," the man answered in his usual deadpan manner.

"You have a dog?"

"You could say so," Ianto said coming to the conclusion that explaining how they came to have a pet pterodactyl would be a waste of time at the moment. "Anyway, let's go on a tour of the place, shall we?"

Gwen watched as Ianto took Shannon around the Hub explaining little bits and pieces a tad too enthusiastically. She had of course noticed the weird awkward silence between them and the occasional flirtatious remark on both sides. Yes, there was definitely some chemistry between them but Gwen hadn't yet decided if she approved or disapproved of anything that might come from it. Shannon seemed like a very nice person but Gwen believed Ianto was - for lack of a better word - difficult. Despite his act he was fragile and sensitive. A relationship like this - separate from Torchwood - would either be a blessing or a disaster depending on a lot of factors. For Gwen Rhys had always been an oasis of peace and relaxation but at times it was difficult. Very difficult indeed.

"Aaand this is the autopsy room," Ianto declared once they had reached their final destination.

"The autopsy room," Shannon repeated. "Why is it called the autopsy room?"

"Come on, Shannon," Gwen said approaching. "It's not hard to figure that out."

The doctor was left speechless trying her best not to answer her own question. She was left baffled as to what exactly Torchwood was doing what with the weaponry and computers and everything.

"Anyway, the body scanner is the computer on your right," Ianto said. "All the tools are in the drawer, ultrasound is right underneath."

"OK, Ianto, you're starting to sound like a catalogue there," Gwen joked.

"Well if we you need anything just ask," the man finished. "I'll call Jack and Martha now. They should give us an inside into what could be happening."

The London group answered a few beeps later and Ianto put them on the loudspeakers.

"Jack," Gwen said obviously still cross about the earlier call.

"Gwen! Sorry about earlier, we needed to get on with the case," the Captain explained himself. "Anyways what's going on on your end?"

"Gwen's baby is six months older than it should be," Ianto explained.

"I thought it was unusually big when I last saw it but I attributed most of that to Rhys's genes."

"Thanks, Jack," Rhys said deadpan.

"Oh, sorry Rhys didn't know you were there," Jack said but the tone of his voice was a bit too lighthearted to be counted as a proper apology.

"Gwen's been to the doctor's and apparently Alex is like an eight month old child," Ianto continued choosing to ignore the little row.

"It's not just the size of the child but the development suggests he's more than half a year old, most probably eight months," Shannon cut in.

"Who was that?" Jack asked.

"Oh, sorry, My name is Doctor Shannon Wilkins I was put in charge of Alex Williams today when Mrs Cooper came to my clinic."

"Please call me Gwen," the senior Torchwood operative whispered quietly to the Doctor. "Well, Jack, any ideas?"

"If you're asking me if I came across something like this then no," Jack answered. "But I think that you should take into consideration one thing Gwen. That the baby may not be yours."

"Don't you dare, Jack!" Rhys said. "It's my baby you're talking about! There's no way somebody could just replaced our child with somebody else's"

"We have to take every possibility into consideration," Jack said.

"I can make DNA tests if you'd like," Shannon joined the discussion.

"Shannon, dear, you're not helping right now," Gwen said sweetly.

"Jack might be right you know?" Ianto said in a calming tone. "You should just let Doctor Wilkins take all the tests she thinks necessary and see what the outcome is. If you don't accept any possibility you will never find out what's wrong."

There was silence for a moment when both Gwen and Rhys were considering Ianto's words. He seemed like the only voice of reason right now. Within minutes they were both waiting on the couch watching from afar as Shannon took care of their baby with a comm attached to her head constantly communicating with Martha about the procedures or results. Ianto on the other hand seemed to take no interest in what was happening to Alex absorbed in what his computer was showing him.

Finally, when Gwen had already started pacing back and forth around the Hub anxious about not being able to help, Shannon walked up to them and asked them to look at the screen. Her face was pale and she her posture indicated something grave.

She turned on the screen showing an image of the boy's chest's scan. Gwen and Rhys saw nothing unusual but Shannon indicated a black spot near the heart. "I don't know what that is but it shouldn't be there. During the scans it moved."

"So it could be alive?" Gwen asked to Shannon's surprise.

"Well, parasites usually live in the digestive system, very rarely anywhere else. Especially the heart."

"One thing, Shannon. Before you continue please take this into consideration: don't judge anything that happens according to your human knowledge. Take everything into consideration."

"OK... Well, I also took blood samples. The good news is that this is definitely your child and the bad news is that there is some kind of substance in the bloodstream that I think may be affecting Alex's growth and development. It doesn't seem to damage the organism or the mind but only time can tell what the exact effect of this substance is."

"Do you know how it got there?" Gwen kept her head clear not allowing personal feelings to overcome her. She found it difficult but experience told her that it was better to distance herself than to let emotions control her reason.

"I found a faint scar on the chest when I looked closely," the Doctor explained. "It's definitely a scar but it's barely visible. But this type of clean cut indicates one thing - a surgery."

"Which begs the question when could have somebody operated on Alex," Ianto said. "From what I've seen in the medical records the only time Alex has been in a hospital or clinic was when he was born, on the first check up and for the injections. Out of the three you could've left the child for long enough to have a surgery only after birth and it's quite possible the operation took place in the hospital itself."

"You think it's an alien, honey?" Rhys asked his wife.

"Could be anything really..." Gwen said equally worried. She knew it was all Torchwood's fault but decided to hold her tongue in check when Ianto was around. She knew he would take it personally.

"Well, Jack would probably know what it is..." Ianto uttered, his mind obviously somewhere in the clouds.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand," Shannon cut in. "What is this alien talk and why would your boss know something like _that_! I think I deserve to know!"

Gwen glanced at Ianto knowing that the question required his answer.

"I can't really tell you, Doctor Wilkins," the man said his voice deadpan and his face emotionless. "Rules and regulations."

The silence that followed was awkward for everybody.

"Okay, so I guess we'll have to find out who conducted the surgery, first," Gwen said. "Are there any files on the hospital server, Ianto?"

Ianto moved to his desk and quickly checked the network. "No, the logs are not on the server so you will have to access the hospital computers."

"'You'? What you're not coming with us?" Gwen asked.

"I have to do something first," Ianto said standing up. "I'm sure you and Doctor Wilkins will figure this out."

Like that he left the Hub, his feet taking him to the garage in a hurry.

Gwen looked after him feeling just slightly betrayed. She took Alex in her hands and turned to Shannon.

"How do you feel like acting a little?"


	20. Episode 5: Part 5

Martha hung up knowing there was nothing more she could do to help Shannon with Alex's case. The pediatrician proved to be quite able and from the way she was handling this problem Martha felt slightly more at ease about not being there herself. Shannon had put her own questions aside and it was obvious Alex was her first priority.

"Don't you want to return to Cardiff for now, Jack?" Martha asked Jack, knowing the Captain was probably worried about Alex and Gwen.

"We'll get this done and then head back to Cardiff," the man said. "Only now we have to get it done quicker."

Martha wanted to continue with the conversation but there was a sudden rattling from behind.

"What the hell was that?" a voice drifted from one of the body trays. "A shot in the head? I feel like some animal. Jeez, that was horrible! And they said that they'd protect me. Pfff! Some protection is that! Getting me a life, friends and then trying to kill me off! Did they think I wouldn't know it's them?"

"Them?" Jack asked turning around.

The person uttering those words was one of the "corpses" - now sitting up and touching the wound on its forehead.

"Martha?" Jack looked at his co-worker.

"He was dead when I last checked," the girl said but her voice lacked the usual confidence.

The man who up until a moment ago had been presumed dead finally realised that he wasn't the only person in the room. He glanced from Jack to Martha and back again unsure what he should do. "Shit," he cursed, but it didn't help him pick up his thoughts and decide on what to do.

"Tom Addler, records say twenty-eight, from Brighton, working at a telephone company as a salesman," Martha read out from her list of victims. "Well, the last one may be true."

"He's one of them?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, he's definitely not human."

"OK, Tom, what's your name?" the Captain asked the alien.

"Tom Addler, like it says on the records," the man said his voice suddenly defensive.

"No, what's your _real_ name."

"What? That is my real name!" the alien who called himself Tom Addler continued. The silence that ensued and Jack's judging look finally made him uneasy. "Okay, okay... I don't know how you knew but... So my name isn't Tom Addler. I don't really like my real name and you wouldn't too if you were me. In your language I guess it would be something like Nine. I'm Nine."

"Okay Nine," Jack continued the question. "Where are you from?"

"It says on the file doesn't it? I'm from Brighton!"

Silence.

"Okay then, I'm actually from Bristol."

Silence.

"Southampton? What is your deal?"

"Well, Mr Nine, our deal is that you're obviously a compulsive lier. If you think that we're just going to let you off like this."

"Well you wouldn't believe me even if I told you!" Nine continued.

Jack smiled. "Try me."

"OK, the place is called Planet 384. And it really is a planet."

"Ouch, no wonder you wanted to escape," Jack commented. "But why would they call you Nine?"

"Cause Eight was taken. Why do you think? But really... Do you think I'd believe you when you say you werethere?" the alien raised his brow in disbelief.

"Yes, actually. Not a very fun place to live."

"No it's not. So if you understand can you now leave me to live in peace?" Nine asked.

"No can do. I need you to explain to me what did you mean by _them _in your complaints just a moment ago."

"I'll tell you if you tell me why are you interested?"

Jack smiled but his face showed irritation rather than amusement. He couldn't help liking Nine's character but at the same time he found it hindered his work and he really needed to get everything done quickly.

"We're Torchwood," Jack explained. "Interacting with the extraterrestrial on behalf of the human race."

Nine started laughing.

"I fail to see what's so amusing in our line of work," Jack said, this time truly annoyed.

"It's just that... just that," Nine started saying but laughing chopped up his words into an incomprehensible mumble. Only once he calmed down under Jack's stern eye did he answer properly. "Well you talk like you control the alien underground but you don't know about the Ambassadors? You don't seem very reliable."

"Enlighten us then."

"Well once I got to Earth they found me quite quickly and since I had no way of going anywhere they offered to help me integrate into the human race. At least until a way of getting me back home was found. Well I didn't mind staying here, especially since I never had the intention of going back to 384. They gave me this device to hide my form, all the documents, a home, a job, a whole life."

"Do they have headquarters or some way to contact them?" Martha asked.

Nine shook his head. "Not that I know of."

"So we got nowhere," Jack concluded.

"Sorry..." Nine said. "So, can I go home already?"

"If you go home there's a big chance that what happened to you will happen again. And next time you may not be so lucky."

"You mean I should just stay here? With all these dead people? Ew..."

"We can get you a new identity if you want," Jack said.

Nine's expression changed suddenly. All the traces of carefreeness disappeared from his face; all that was left was accusation.

"I already left my life once it's not just flipping a switch! I've got a proper job and a home and friends. I don't want to just leave it!"

"You'd rather stay and wait for the killer to appear again?"

"I won't have to if you catch him first," Nine grinned.

o*o*o

Without the pressure of other guests and while the sun was still up Tobey could now take a better look around Lois's flat. The place was small but quite homey. Clean but not spotless; the furniture modern though not exaggerated. Little trinkets on the shelves made the house alive despite it's owner's temporary move.

A Venice landscape greeted him as he entered the flat. The picture was vintage but the glossy reproduction took away its charm making it seem a little cheap.

"You've been to Venice then?" Tobey asked busy taking of his trainers. There was a basket with guest slippers right next to the door but used to walking bare-foot around his flat he didn't help himself to any.

"My sister got me that," Lois' voice came from the kitchen. "Tea or coffee?"

"Uuuh, tea," Tobey mumbled his mind somewhere in the clouds. "So you've got siblings," he continued the conversation moving down the corridor, passing two closed doors - one to the bedroom and one to the lavatory - and into the small living room.

"Yeah, a brother and a sister," the answer came. From the casual tone of the response Tobey figured they were in good but not perfect relations. Much like him and his sister.

The layout was quite simple: a spacious, almost square room (there was a half-circle like space where there was a big window distorting the square shape) with two open entrances - to the kitchen and corridor. Two bookcases occupied one wall, a sofa the other.

He saw a small TV on which they had watched the X-men trilogy the previous evening. It wasn't the kind of box you'd watch action movies on but it was a nice change to the large TV screens present in almost every household he'd visit - not to mention his own. He'd imagine it was good for old black-and-white movies - something Ianto would have enjoyed. And his sister.

"I have an older sister - bit whiney at times but overall great," he continued the conversation. "She'd love your place," he blushed after realizing he had almost said _you _instead.

The whistling kettle announced the water was ready for tea. Tobey took those last few moments to continue with his exploration of the flat. He saw the bookcase was mostly filled up with books - always a good sign - with two shelves storing DVD's. But volumes did not occupy the spotlight. It was the little trinkets: a figurine of the Sydney Opera House; several postcards from the States, China and Indonesia; an indian dream catcher, an Eiffel Tower snowglobe and a "bouquet" of dried peppers (red and green) and garlic - colours suggested the country of origin was Hungary. The lack of tourist guides between the many books seemed suspicious.

"Tea's ready," Lois said coming out of the kitchen with two ceramic mugs and putting them on coasters on the coffee table.

Tobey jumped to the sofa; the last thing he wanted to be called was nosy. He added sugar and milk and enjoyed the warmth of the drink. After sipping a little of the tea he continued with the conversation.

"So you travel a lot?" he asked not knowing how wrong his assumptions had been.

"Not really, no," Lois's answer was overly casual suggesting that this topic bothered her a little. "I've never been further than Cardiff actually. And that only now."

"No way!" Tobey couldn't stop his surprise before realising it may actually be a little hurtful.

"I'm scared of flying," Lois confessed, her face red. "Never been on a plane. Nor on an airport in fact. My sister and brother-in-law are travel writers and they always get me pretty things from their travels."

"Flying is not that bad, it's quite exhilarating actually," Tobey saying. "When there's a little time off I'm taking you somewhere. Marsaille or Oslo maybe. You can't be stuck in London and Cardiff all the time."

Lois laughed. "First we need to finish this work. Or in fact get on with it."

"A connection... Shouldn't be that hard."

It was. The list had several names which they divided between human and alien. There were both women and men all ages and colours. At first glance they looked like people with absolutely nothing in common. On the same list there were the worst of criminals right next to law-abiding citizens.

"Maybe we should start with the visitors," Lois used that term to avoid saying _alien_. It made her uneasy.

They did that but the work still proved plentiful. They knew they would spend hours just going through the files.

"We need to rethink this whole thing through," Tobey finally said, his list containing dozens of connections none of which looked relevant. "Whoever is doing this has mostly removed all the actual evidence from any of the servers. Whatever clues there are they're not here. They're out there."

Lois chuckled. "You're enjoying this aren't you?" she said.

Tobey looked puzzled. "Enjoying what?"

"Playing detective. Alright then, Inspector Magpie, what do you suggest we do next?"

* * *

><p>Sorry for the delay, you won't have to wait for the next part so long, I promise. I should probably set specific weekdays for my stories to come out in - it would probably help me organize things. But hey, I'm starting uni next week so until I get things sorted out it's probably still gonna be random.<p>

Thanks a ton for reading, I hope you all like the story and a huge thanks to Ash-Varnei for betareading everything!


	21. Episode 5: Part 6

Hello, sorry for taking so long. I know it's been a couple of weeks but well... uni... Just moved in and there's been more to do than I expected. Anyways here's the next part. Enjoy :)

* * *

><p>"Oh hi, Shannon, how's the new job coming along?" The kind greeting she received made the doctor think twice about what she was going to do. She didn't feel happy about misleading her former coworkers and Emma was one of the kindest people she knew. The receptionist was in fact a nurse but she had accidentally ended up working behind the desk and her love for children prevented her from accepting a promotion outside the pediatric division.<p>

"Emma! It's been such a long time," Shannon smiled.

"Yes it has, I didn't see you at the annual Christmas party this year," the lady said. "I'd hoped you'd come! You may have moved to a private clinic but you're still one of us!"

Shannon felt warmth and guilt mixing into one somewhere inside her chest. "I know, I meant to come but something came up. I won't miss it this year!"

"That's a promise! So what brings you here today?" Emma asked.

"I'm actually looking for a file on one of my patients. His name was Russell Edward King?"

Emma tapped the name into the database but her face showed that there were no results found.

"Maybe just Russell King?"

"No, unfortunately..."

"I was sure he was a patient here. Could you maybe try the archives? I know it's a lot to ask but it's really important. I'll make it up to you, I promise!"

"Shannon... You know I could never say no to you," Emma smiled. "I'll take a quick peep and be right back. But I'm not promising anything!"

"I know, I owe you one!"

Emma left her post and Shannon let out a sigh of relief. The first part of the plan was going well. She tapped her fingers thrice on the counter - the signal to initiate the second stage.

Within moments she heard commotion. Shannon couldn't help but feel respect towards the newly-met couple. Their reaction was fast.

"Oh my god, Rhys!" Gwen's voice was wavering, full of terror and anxiety. "Help us! Somebody call the doctor! Rhys! Rhys!" Shannon smiled at how good the women's acting was. "Don't just bloody stand there, do something! No! Don't touch him! Make some air! Oh, God, Rhys!"

By now all the eyes in the corridor were fixed on the couple: Gwen kneeling on the floor only a few meters away from the desk, next to her Rhys now lying on the floor faking a heart attack. The diversion was set. Shannon took this opportunity and moved behind the counter. Her fingers shifted quickly on the keyboard. She searched for the personnel logs for March 17th, the day Alex was born.

Her eyes passed tens of people, some of whom she knew personally, some of whom she'd heard of. She dismissed the regular staff and found temporary workers. And then she noticed that weird name. Doctor Johan Marinus, guest surgeon on 17th of March. No further details were available. Shannon skimmed through the rest of the list but she knew that this was the person they were looking for.

She left the desk leaving everything as she had found it. She looked around prolonging her movement hoping that Gwen was not too distracted with shouting at various members of the staff as well as patients and visitors to notice the signal. It turned out she underestimated the Torchwood operative. Working first in the police and then in Torchwood made these kind of under-cover operations a piece of cake.

"Stop shouting, I'm fine already!" Rhys said, "waking up". "I only felt a little faint! You don't have to get the whole hospital involved. I'm all right!"

"Oh, thank god!" Gwen hugged Rhys and then turned to everybody gathered around them. "He's alright!" Her eyes were tearing up.

They then left making sure to refuse any and all help they were being offered. Shannon heard various comments being passed around after their leave. She had to wait a few more moments to apologize to Emma for making her pointlessly take a trip to the archives and to set up an appointment with her for next week to catch up. She felt she owed Emma at least that.

Fifteen minutes later she was back in Gwen's blue honda hearing Rhys's bragging about how well he faked his heart attack. Gwen skillfully cut this short by praising him nonchalantly and then turning to Shannon.

"Got anything?" she asked.

"I think I do, in fact: his name is Doctor Johan Marinus."

o*o*o

The phone rang out a few times before Ianto fished it out from his jacket's inner pocket.

"Ianto Jones speaking," the formula slipped his lips almost automatically.

"Hi, Ianto this is Gwen," the caller said.

"Oh, hi Gwen. You got anything?"

"Yeah, I was hoping you'd look up one Johan Marinus for me?"

Ianto swerved right noticing his turn at the last moment. He immediately pushed the breaks coming to a stop just in front of a pair of students crossing the street. They ignored the car oblivious to the fact that if Ianto's reflexes were just a tiny bit late they would've been hit.

"Ianto?" Gwen called worried by the sounds she had just heard.

The man didn't answer at first. He felt cold sweat running down his spine. The sudden distraction caused by that name had had almost cost him his life and he didn't know where that sort of reaction came from. When he stopped to think about it he was almost certain that he had never before heard that name. Then why did his mind suddenly started looking for something? Could he have known who this person was?

"Ianto?" Gwen called again this time louder and more angrily.

Ianto drove on slowly. "Yes, sorry. Some people jumped out onto the street," this wasn't strictly speaking a lie but it wasn't the truth either. He knew he would have to research this Marinus properly later. "I can't do that right now. I need to check something for Jack first. I won't be back for some time I think. You can wait but it would be quicker if you just did it yourself."

He didn't wait for an answer. He was almost at his destination; the empty street and the police tapes marked the end of his ride. He parked just next to the tapes blocking one of the uniform cars while he was at it.

"You can't park that there!" one of the policemen called after him. But Ianto was already making his way past the yellow tapes ignoring the accusations of law breaking shouted after him.

Only when he reached the door of the building did one of the PCs catch up with him. "You can't be here! This is a crime scene. Police only!"

Ianto stopped and looked at him. "I'm Torchwood," he said.

"Whatever the hell is Torchwood it doesn't matter. Should I spell it out for you? You _can't_ be here. If you don't leave this instant I will have to escort you to the station for disrupting a police investigation!"

''Dixon! It's alright. He's with me."

"Andy!" Ianto greeted the PC with relief. He knew that it would've taken Jack two seconds to get the officer to let him in but Ianto didn't have that talent. He didn't enjoy explaining to the police why they should let him in as well as why and how he was taking over their investigation. He preferred office work but sometimes field work was inevitable. And yes, most of the time also fun.

"If you'd told me you were coming I'd have warned them," Andy said once they were already inside the building.

"It was sort of short notice," Ianto explained.

"So where's the rest of the team?"

Ianto sighed. "Mostly in London on a job. But if that body upstairs is who I think it is then I'm guessing they'll be coming back soon."

"So should I get everyone packing again?" Andy didn't even attempt to hide the frustration in his voice.

"No need, I just want to look around. If they didn't get anything from the bodies in London then I doubt I'll find anything here."

"Well, whatever you're looking for I hope you find it," Andy said quietly. "Between you and me, this looks like a case similar to the one in London and if you think so as well then it must be. That Deadeye serial killer. Just thinking about it makes me shivers. A serial killer? In Cardiff?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised Andy," Ianto said. "You'll find weirder things than that here..."

"Yeah, but that's your expertise. It's not like I have to deal with it directly, thank God."

"For all we know this might be just some copy-cat killer," Ianto added trying to ease Andy's mind a little.

"And you hope to find out if it is or not?"

"I'm just here to confirm this person's identity," Ianto said dismissively.

"Well, when the authorities catch wind of this they'll send someone over from Scotland Yard and you'll probably have it a bit harder sneaking onto all the crime scenes. Anyways, we're here."

Andy opened the door to flat number 7 and showed Ianto in. The door opened to the living room and there were four policemen taking photos and searching the flat for evidence.

"Hey everybody this is Detective Inspector Jones here to investigate and report back to the capital so just let him do as he pleases," Andy's voice broke through the noise of conversing people and equipment. There were sighs of irritation that Ianto noticed were nowhere as near obvious as the ones he used to hear when he had been introduced as Torchwood.

Ianto looked around the flat. It appeared pretty average with a TV set and a stereo, sofa, armchairs, a shelf holding CDs, DVDs and books and a little bar next to the window. All that set on a slightly stained beige carpet and against plain white walls with the paint coming of in small patches here and there. Overall nothing was too new but nothing looked too used up either. A home as plain as any other.

Except, of course, for the dead body adorning the leather sofa.

Ianto took out a pair of new plastic gloves from his pocket and put them on. He usually used them for cleaning but nobody here needed to know that of course. How does a detective behave? What did he have to look at to conceal actually searching for something else? He knew that reading all of Sherlock Holmes stories would eventually pay off.

Ianto leaned over the body. The dead man was probably in his late thirties or early forties. His face was slightly square, but not chubby. A few wrinkles appeared here and there but overall the man didn't look old. On top of a handsome face he had a two day stubble that looked anything but unkempt. His eyes were firmly shut; they didn't look like the eyes of a person who went to the other world peacefully - more like the eyes of a man trying desperately to look away. Well there was no surprise there: the hole in the man's forehead was not something anybody could look forward to.

But it was not the injury that Ianto was looking for. Or at least not _this_ injury. He casually looked at the man's fingernails only to convince the others - who were obviously staring at him - that he was indeed who he claimed to be. He moved his hand down and lifted the man's T-shirt. Yes, it was there. The scar: a white imprint of an animal jawline against the man's pink skin.

"That's one nasty scar, that there," Ianto heard a voice coming from somewhere above his head. The policeman originally following his actions with distrust but was now only left with curiosity.

"Yes, I wouldn't want to be in his shoes when he got it."

"Look at those teeth! What could've done _that_? Must've been one massive beast."

"A lion, maybe," Ianto lied. He knew exactly what had caused this and it wasn't an animal. It was a Weevil. Daniel Bay: case of 2007, a man saved literally from the jaws of a Weevil. Later healed and retconned by the Torchwood team.

Ianto stood up. Now he was certain. This was a Torchwood-connected murder.

"Well the autopsy will reveal what it was. Probably..."

"Definitely," Ianto agreed, hoping the exact opposite. He didn't want people to know about the existence of Weevils. It would cause so much trouble.

"But I didn't expect you to be Welsh, Detective Jones," the officer continued.

Ianto felt the blood rush from his face. He forgot he was supposed to have been from the capital. Well he didn't know how to fake any English accent anyway. At least not when he was sober.

"Well..." Ianto started explaining himself but it turned out there was no need for that.

"It's nice knowing there's one of us making his way up to the top up in the big bad London."

Ianto thought about the Torchwood Cardiff team investigation in London, most likely breaking all red tape possible along the way. Yes, he did feel a little proud.

"Thanks," he said slightly abashed.

Ianto moved to what seemed Daniel Bay's office. He looked at the desk and saw piles of correspondence, a planner and some stationery lying around. He looked briefly through it until he saw a Millennium Center brochure - one he knew he had in the information center - with writing on it. It was a single date: _May 23__rd_. Barely two weeks from now. He looked at the planner only to see that the hand-writing on the leaflet did not belong to the victim. It was a message. For him. For Torchwood. A shiver went down his spine when he realized that the murdered man's surname was Bay. A coincidence?

Of one thing he was certain. This was a murder connected to the ones taking place in London.

He left the room and found Andy.

"If you find anything that could be even remotely connected to Torchwood in this case tell me," he ordered squeezing his arm a little too tightly.

The pattern was obvious. Everything was suddenly taking place at the same time despite the constant standstill when these sudden rushes ceased.

"Okay, I'll do it, just calm down a bit..." Andy said.

"I'm off, tell me when the real Scotland Yard comes over," Ianto said leaving.

He took his umbrella and made his way to the car. He could see the sky brightening a little on the horizon but it was still raining here. He squeezed into his car throwing the umbrella on the backseat caring not even a bit if the seats got wet or not.

He took out his phone and dialed Jack's number.

"Hey, Jack, there are a few new developments in Cardiff you should know about," he said not bothering to wait for a reply.

"Hi Ianto, I was just about to call you," Jack said. "Looks like we'll need to stay in London for a couple of days. We've got nothing on the killer."

"Well, don't worry about that. He's _here_. In Cardiff. Remember Daniel Bay, the man bitten by a Weevil? He was murdered this morning and from what I can say about bullet holes this one seems to be exactly in the middle of his forehead."

There was silence on the other side. Jack was waiting for more.

"It's not just London, now, Jack. I wouldn't be surprised if we find more bodies in Liverpool, Bristol, I wouldn't surprised if there were any on Orkney! Whatever this is we're at least two steps behind, constantly! Jack, that man, Longrass..."

"Well, we're coming back to Cardiff tomorrow then."

"No, Jack. This is like a disease and we're only treating the symptoms. Whatever we do it's a temporary solution. We need to find what this is and then fight whoever it is that's leading us astray. I think it's a distraction."

"Okay, I'll give Tobey and Lois till tomorrow to find something and if there's nothing I'm returning to Cardiff."

"There's one more thing. There was a message. For us, for Torchwood. It was one date: the twenty-third of May."

"We've got two weeks then... We'd better make the most of it.

* * *

><p>Next part most likely in the next week. I hope I won't go missing for another month in the mean time :P Huge thank you to Ash-Varnei for beta-reading and to you for reading. Hope you all enjoyed this :)<p> 


	22. Episode 5: Part 7

Next part is up! Another victory over coursework! Enjoy :

* * *

><p>Lois turned the key and was quite surprised when she heard a click - the lock gave in. Tobey's master key really worked. She sneaked into Clarice Thomas' flat and turned the lights on. The place was small and quite messy. For a second Lois thought that maybe somebody had broken into this flat before her but the feeling was different. This <em>messy<em> was objects comfortably lying on the floor; a unfinished book resting on the sofa arm open in the middle, spine up; mugs of unfinished tea and glasses of wine tucked away next to the table (the table itself being infested with papers); the cover slipping off the armchair and pillows lying clumsily on the floor. If not for the smell Lois would've assumed this flat was still lived in. But there was mold in the tea mugs and a thick cover of dust over everything, not to mention the stench of old food coming from the kitchen.

Lois couldn't help but wonder why it hadn't been cleaned but the obvious answer quickly came to her mind. This was not the home of a very sociable person. Not to mention Clarice Thomas being from outer space. She probably didn't have any close friends to clean her flat out, not to mention relatives. Lois couldn't help but feel sorry for this lonely person. Her files were so clean: a secretary for a broadcasting company CEO, a flat in Kensington, regular medical check-ups. It was hard to imagine what this woman was really like from reading her papers. At first she was doubtful of Tobey's idea but now it all made sense.

She turned on the comm and immediately got in contact with the technician.

"You're in?" she heard him ask.

"Yeah, the master key worked great. How 'bout you?" she asked.

"Electronic security system only. I didn't even need to pick a lock or anything like that. Piece of cake!"

"Good," Lois said although she wondered where exactly the technician had obtained skill such as "picking locks". "Tobey, what exactly are we searching for?" The girl didn't feel comfortable about going through somebody else's things.

"Whatever we think that can lead us to the person who helped them get undercover. Jack called you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, that '_Ambassadors_' thing..."

Lois approached the sofa and opened the book. She riffled through the pages but there was nothing there. The papers on the table were next but none of them seemed to have any value to their case. "Work at Sky, electricity bills, a new telephone contract," she told Tobey. She put all the papers back in a neat pile, relieving the coffee table of the mess a little.

She glanced at the now clean table and saw a little black moleskin notebook. She opened it and skimmed through the notes - mostly work related meetings, plans and tasks. She put the notebook into her purse and went on to excavate the flat more. All the while hearing Tobey pointing out whatever he saw as even remotely relative. None of it was present in Clarice's things and if it was it seemed too big a coincidence to be worth any trouble.

"Listen Tobey," Lois said suddenly. "Why are we searching for these people? It sounds like they're all evil and everything but look at what they did! They helped all these people get a life in this new world. He helped them find some sort of way! Should we really be that suspicious of them?"

"And suddenly a person from their list ends up almost dead alongside almost half a dozen of other aliens. If they're any good then we let them be but if it turns out they're behind this then Torchwood needs to act."

"I guess so... I'm just... worried, I guess?"

There was no answer so Lois continued. "We think we're the good guys but what if we're not? I mean, it's not like there are points..."

"Didn't Torchwood save the world once or twice?" there was amusement in Tobey's voice but Lois couldn't help but feel that it was just a front to make her feel better. "That has to qualify for something! And even if we fall on the vast patch of gray so does everything else."

"Yeah, I guess..." the girl tried smiling but she was quite certain she didn't do it well.

Lois stepped into the kitchen and took a glance around the room. It was as messy as the living room except the stench was worse. The mountain of dishes next to the sink seemed to be infested with what Lois hoped was only flies. She preferred to keep away from that area if possible.

Thankfully, it wasn't Clarice's diet that she was investigating. There was a calendar on the fridge that seemed far more important than anything that could've been hidden in the recesses of this messy kitchen. Lois shuffled through the pages most of which were empty: No appointments, no birthdays, no holidays, no dinner plans or dates. Looking at the state of her living room it was not a surprise. Despite working as a secretary, at home Clarice was not a very organized person.

But there was one thing repeated throughout the entire calendar. One date every three months signed just "Doctor". Now if she was such a messy person why go through the trouble of having this one date carefully written down every three months. Unless it was important it would probably be neglected.

"Tobey, try searching for something hospital related, doctor appointments or check ups," Lois said through the comm and related her speculations to him.

Several minutes later when she was going through all the books in Clarice Thomas' bedroom she got a reply from Tobey: "I got a "Rommell Clinic" in the planner. Also Tom Sanders is a frequent member of almost every singles club in the neighborhood and he has accounts on lonelyhearts and all those other dating sites. Also I think he has frequent buyer cards from literary _everywhere_."

"Nothing like that here," Lois answered. "I found old amazon receipts in the waste bin and there were a few boxes in the closet. She's not in the least as sociable as your guy. Although wait..."

Lois was just going through the content of the drawers when she saw a leaflet for a pub's single's party every Tuesday at eight. "First and Last?" she asked. "There's a leaflet of a singles party there in her things."

"Yes, there's something like that here as well!" Tobey almost shouted into the microphone.

Lois smiled at his excitement. Yes, this job was perfect for somebody like him. He got engrossed in everything he did.

A moment later she heard him mumbling to himself and quiet tapping on the keyboard. She herself also returned to her work, going through everything she found. She reached the last sheet of paper in the last drawer only to see it was an indian take-away menu. She put her hands on the desk and exhausted and resigned leaned on them trying to figure out where could she find anything else that could lead them to those Ambassadors. But with this complete disorganization it was hard to tell what was really important and what wasn't. There were random objects and papers everywhere but none of them seemed to be nothing more than a coincidence.

They had only two leads and although they may have both been important if they both proved to be worthless they were going back home tomorrow and the case would remain unresolved for the next few weeks if not forever.

She opened her eyes and looked in front of her. All she saw there was a messy bedroom with an unmade bed, clothes lying on the chair and the duvet; an open closet with a landslide of dresses spilling out and a bookcase which proved to have nothing more than random fiction novels, a few textbooks on marketing and of course a few english dictionaries. She hang her head resigned.

It was then that her eyes caught a glance of something that was out of place in this flat. Not really in the flat but in the desk. There was an address inscribed in one of the drawers. In a flat where everything constantly changed place this was unusual. Or really in any flat it would be unusual.

"Tobey, could you check up the address two-four Abingdon road..."

"Kensington?" Tobey finished.

"You know it?" Lois asked surprised. When she was going around London with him this morning he had seemed to be in the capital for the very first time.

"It's that Rommel Clinic. I guess they both go there."

"So we've got this clinic and First and Last pub," Lois said a feeling at ease now that they knew the Rommel Clinic was indeed a hit. "I think we can finish these two places and maybe go to that third one. I'll call Jack on the way and maybe that Nine person will know something."

She didn't wait for a reply and packed up everything she thought could have any connection with their case to review later.

She took one last glance at the apartment and couldn't help but feel sad. Nobody would really remember her anymore. At least not here on Earth, where she had a fake name, age, job... life.

o*o*o

The figure of a man looming over the crowds on Trafalgar Square was easily overlooked. After all you don't expect anybody to stand on the rooftop of the National Portrait Gallery so you never really look that way. He might've appeared on a few tourist photographs but it would be a long time before somebody asked a question "how did he get there?" or the more important one: "who is this man?"

This man was none other than Captain Jack Harkness. He watched the crowds continue in their crowdly manner and people being well... people. He watched fighting lovers, stubborn kids making their mothers cross, friends discussing everyday life.

Two weeks, was it? Was it really then that everything changed? Or was it just when these things only _started_ to change? Or maybe nothing would happen and it was only a coincidence? Instinct told Jack that it wasn't the case. And he couldn't be sure how this change would occur. After all it could come throughout centuries or in an instant. There was no rule. And that was what made it beautiful. Beautiful and terrifying.

Yes, the audacious Captain Jack Harkness was afraid. Change usually brought an end and Jack couldn't risk losing anything more right now. He wasn't doing a very good job keeping everything together either; it proved harder than he had anticipated. Especially when the nightmares kept returning.

He saw the crowds lessening, groups breaking, waving a quiet goodbye. It was getting late. The wind gushed through his mane, messing his locks, rearranging his thoughts, turning everything around .

Jack smiled. He had the brilliant Gwen Cooper, smart (and handsome) Ianto Jones, the genius doctor Martha Jones, the excellent researchist Lois Habiba and the eccentric (and optimistic) if not slightly irresponsible Tobey Magpie. He had a great team. He had absolutely nothing to be scared of.

o*o*o

The doctor flinched as he heard the ringing of his phone. The petri dish shook and a drop of liquid spilt on his notes. A hole spread ruining the product of one of the equations. He put the dish back under the microscope and answered the cell. He hated this technology. He searched for the answer button and pressed it clumsily with his forefinger. A phone should have a separate handset which you just picked up and talked to, not some tiny buttons or worse a touch screen which was impossible to use.

"Doctor Marinus speaking," he said, not failing to sound annoyed by the phone call. He immediately changed this attitude upon hearing the voice on the other side.

"How's the new project coming along, Doctor?" the voice was quiet but confident. All in all, it was soft, however it also seemed like the kind that would cut you if you said one wrong thing.

"Oh, the creatures are just magnificent," Marinus never called his experiments anything else. He felt sick imagining calling them aliens. In fact the word never passed his throat, he seemed to swallow it every time he tried to utter it, he choked on it for long enough to make up a substitute. These days he didn't even try. He just called them "creatures". "They can survive in a pH of 2 easily."

"Good."

The comment was short but spoke volumes about what the speaker was implying. Casual conversation was not welcomed.

"Is there another project coming along, Mr Longrass?" Marinus asked.

"I should think so. There will be one of my men paying you a visit today."

There was a silence. Marinus couldn't help but curse his job. It was shady yes, but more importantly mysterious - he knew barely anything - and unexpected. He wanted to say something but wouldn't dare to speak.

"Doctor Marinus?" the voice was expectant and the man couldn't help but wonder how did it happen that Longrass _knew_. He _knew_ everything.

"There were two things I wanted to bring up. I need knew volunteers for the pill, that's one thing and also... that boy. The project from two months ago. I would need to check up on the child. I should do it weekly, or daily even but the situation is... delicate."

There was a click and several beeps before Marinus understood that his speaker disconnected. He sighed. He hated his employer. But he was paid well and all his needs were met. This answer (or rather the lack of it) was neither a yes or a no. It was an I'll see what I can do. And Longrass could do a lot.

o*o*o

"I think I should be going," Shannon Wilkins said standing a few meters behind Gwen.

They were in the Hub, Gwen engrossed in researching Johan Marinus, Rhys hanging from her shoulder pointing at something every now and again.

"I have work," Shannon continued.

"Oh, don't worry you can return to it once we're done with this," Gwen said nonchalantly.

"I don't think you need my help anymore..."

Gwen stopped scrolling and turned around in her revolving chair.

"You think you can't help us anymore? That we don't need you? You're exactly what we need, Shannon. Once we catch this bastard you're the one who'll ask him questions. If you think I know what is happening here Shannon, you're wrong. I can't do it without you. You have enough expertise not to let this guy mess with you which is something I can't say about myself. I can only speculate while you _know_, Shannon. You know what is true and what is false. Without you I can't save my son. And I will not rest until I help him."

Shannon took a deep breath. What could she say?

Thankfully she didn't need to say _anything. _Rhys started pulling Gwen's shirt and pointing towards the screen.

"He works at the Rommel Clinic... London," his initial excitement disappeared. "Head surgeon? Did they even perform surgery in private clinics?"

"Depends on the practice," Shannon explained. "Obviously, plastic surgery takes place in private clinic but things like transplants are very rare."

"Says here his place of residence is again in London but he's living temporarily in Cardiff. Or rather in Barry."

"That's at least a half an hour drive from Cardiff..." Gwen noticed.

"And that's only without the traffic jams, love," Rhys noticed. "If you wanted to go there now it'd take you hours."

"So we wait then?" Gwen was outraged.

"There's no hurry, love," Rhys said.

"No hurry? It's our child, Rhys, our son!"

"And have you seen anything wrong with him?" Rhys asked. "Cause I haven't. Yes he's a bit older than he's supposed to but Shannon said it herself: he's a healthy eight month-old. Alex is healthy! Two hours won't save him right now."

"I have to give it to him he is speaking a lot of sense right now," there was a new voice in the room, one that seemed to be almost the impersonation of Torchwood.

"Ianto?" Gwen asked, looking around to find the tall, soaking wet man.

"My umbrella broke on the way back and I forgot to bring a spare," Ianto explained his anything but not pristine state. It was rare to see him looking not perfect in that suit of his. "Anyway, I wanted to say that instead of going now you could learn something about this Marinus character and be a little more prepared. I don't see the need to hurry," Ianto pointed at Alex who was sitting on the couch playing with his toys with an everlasting smiled glued to his face.

Gwen looked unsure but finally gave in. She had tears in her eyes. Not something Ianto wanted to deal with at the moment.

"I'll be right back," he said disappearing somewhere in the recesses to appear in a fresh set of clothes twenty minutes later. He stood next to Gwen and looked at her screen.

Gwen glanced from her monitor to Ianto and back again a few times. "You smell nice," she said the words Shannon was thinking out loud. "Since when is there a shower in the Hub?"

Ianto raised his eyebrow in surprise. "You didn't know? There was always been one in the lower level."

Gwen frowned at all the time she had hurried home to take a shower before meeting somebody after work. She decided not to ponder too much about it.

"What about you? Have you found anything wherever it was you went?" she asked facing the screen but looking sideways to have a look at Ianto when he was answering.

The man hesitated for a moment. "Dead end," he said. He decided not to worry Gwen about other things at the moment. She was already preoccupied enough with her son. "Anyway, we need information about this Marinus, right? An empty stomach won't help so I'll go get us some food."

Gwen looked at Ianto disappearing behind the cog-wheel exit. She knew a part of the reason why he went off like that was because he felt uncomfortable around Shannon entering his work-life but he was also the genius who thought of everything important when everyone else was busy worrying themselves about trivial matters of alien abduction but forgetting about the growing hole in their stomach. How could she remember to eat when something this grave was happening? She wondered how could Torchwood ever survive without an Ianto figure to look after it.

* * *

><p>Hope you all enjoyed this part of the story! Hope I wont take so much time for the next. I can only blame my discrete maths coursework and other uni responsibilities. Till next week!<p> 


	23. Episode 5: Part 8

Next part up! Enjoy :)

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><p>"We just walk in through the front door?" Tobey asked surprised.<p>

The plan was quite simple. Two of them enter the Rommell Clinic, one as the alien, one as a companion. They register the alien and try to get as much information as possible from whoever they meet there. From there on they leave or act as they think is appropriate (for example, comprehend the enemy).

"I don't see why not," Jack said. "They will probably have heavy security and it will be safer than sneaking in."

"What happens when they find out that the alien is _not_ an alien?" Tobey raised his brow.

The whole plan was good except for that one little detail. They had already decided that any answers they needed were most likely to be found in the clinic. There were just too many coincidences leading towards it. First the links in the houses of the victims (Tobey and Lois checked two other homes and found the address and name of the clinic in each one), then Nine, who proved the worst informer possible, agreed that he indeed was obliged to register in that particular clinic and the connection of the head surgeon Doctor Johan Marinus who as Ianto had told them was most likely responsible for Alex's unusually fast growth.

"They won't," Jack smiled. "They won't find out that the _alien_ is not an alien because the alien will be one."

"But they already know Nine, we can't risk going in with him," Tobey said. "Plus, from what you said he's not the best help."

"Nine is not the only alien we know about. We can ask Lisa for help. She proved herself quite capable on our last meeting. I'll have her take this evening's train to Cardiff."

Tobey looked reluctant but he understood why Jack wouldn't want to risk breaking in during the night. It was possible that these were the same people who had the office in Cardiff and if that were the case then they probably had some out-of-time equipment. Tobey knew he could probably deal with some futuristic cameras but nevertheless he felt unprepared for something like that.

"What about the pub?" Lois asked. "That... First and Last place."

"We can check it this evening but I doubt there will be any leads there," Jack answered. "Or I could just attend one of their meeting and see what happens," a playful smile appeared on his face.

Tobey returned the smile awkwardly, still not used to seeing _this_ side of his boss.

"What did you get Martha?" Jack asked. After he had heard about the clinic from Tobey and Lois he had already conjured up a plan but he still didn't know if the doctor hadn't found any useful information in the morgue.

"A lot and very little," the girl said mysteriously.

Martha took out a small oval object wrapped in a plastic ziplock bag. It was no bigger than a hazelnut and was of a dark colour which judging by the spatters of blood visible in the bag could've not been its natural colour.

"Oh god," Tobey covered his lips. It wasn't hard to connect the facts. "This thing was _in_ them?" he asked. "Who would do such a thing?"

"Jack?" Martha glanced at the captain.

"The Chameleon Orb," Jack explained. "It's a camouflage device; supposedly the best possible. It doesn't only change their outside but inside as well. I've only heard about it though. I can't say much about how it works, only what I heard. It's attached to the main organ, most often the heart of a person."

"Most likely it's got wireless," Tobey said and saw all the eyes turn to him. "Or some other alien equivalent of wireless. There are no buttons on it or anything and it's probably supposed to be undetectable so it can't be metal. Also electromagnetic waves are out of the question. Nobody would want to be a walking x-ray machine or a radio broadcaster. Plus it's dangerous. But maybe if it's low frequency. Hmm... Probably not."

"You think you can figure out how it works?" Jack asked.

"Maybe," Tobey said. "Well one important feature is that it has to be programmable. Unless... Jack are you sure it's only camouflage?"

Jack raised his eyebrow confused.

"Well it's quite impossible but this orb might also alter the DNA. But since it's called a camouflage orb I highly doubt it."

"The body changed back immediately after I removed it so I think it only alters the looks," Martha added.

"Well then I can check this little thing properly once we get back to the Hub," Tobey said. "Unless you want me to try opening it now..."

The technician looked curiously around his friends and saw a anticipation in their eyes. "Okey-dokey!"

He took the orb and disappeared in the kitchen for a few minutes.

"I think I should go in with Lisa," Martha said in the meantime. "They might recognize Jack and if these are the same people Tobey met it may also be risky for him to go."

"We can keep a lookout from the outside," Lois added. "And in case anything happens help."

"Fine, I'll have Tobey prepare all the equipment needed," Jack agreed. "Too bad we don't have the lenses with us."

"But we have got the wireless earpieces though," Tobey said coming from out of the kitchen. "And I think we could attach a microphone somewhere."

"No. No surveillance or tracking," Martha said. "For all we know they can have technology to track it and if they learn of anything Lisa will be in danger. We can't risk anything happening to her."

"I can try and hack into their surveillance system if it's possible."

"You do that," Jack said. "Martha's right, there's no point risking anybody's life for what could be a dead end. What about the orb?"

"Nothing really... It's much more endurable than I suspected. I can't really open it or anything. I thought it might have been plastic but it wouldn't break or open. I'll have to do everything in the Hub if want to get inside it."

"We'll return to it when you get back then," Jack said. "That's it for today. I'll see you all tomorrow morning."

Tobey watched his boss leaving and couldn't help but feel that there was something he was not telling them. He wondered whether it had something to do with that phrase he used to repeat: "The twenty-first century is when everything changes." He seemed to have stopped recently and it worried the technician a little. But he felt like it wasn't really his business so he never prodded into it. And he liked the way it was right now. It was fun, he had new friends. Shared secrets always drew people together. And so did risking lives.

o*o*o

The rain and dark didn't help Ianto drive. He barely saw the road his headlights seemed to be cowering before the overwhelming darkness. That and he was tired. He consciously avoided doing what Martha had told him to. He needed to do just two things to get healthy: sleep and eat and he hadn't properly done any of it. Especially today. He may have nibbled on a pizza but what good did that do compared to working for hours on an empty stomach after an almost sleepless night.

In any case he felt sick and exhausted right now. The fatigue had attacked suddenly just as he left the city centre. A few times he was certain he saw Gwen's concerned face but he knew she was too preoccupied with Alex to notice anything wrong with the rest of the world. And he certainly didn't want to worry her. He knew he was in no condition to drive but it was his duty and no medical condition would stop him doing his job.

It was later than they had predicted. In the end they had decided to leave at late evening and break in under the dead of night - the neighborhood was big enough for somebody to notice them and attention was the last thing they wanted. Also Jack had suddenly called and ordered Ianto to pack Lisa into the first train heading for London.

"Turn right," he jumped hearing the GPS's emotionless voice. With a dose of fear he realised that he had almost dozed off behind the wheel.

He followed the instruction and noticed that they had already arrived at their destination. At ten thirty in the evening Marinus was bound to be still awake and the rest of the street was most likely too preoccupied with their little evening lives to notice the arrival of a black SUV.

The four of them exited the car but Gwen was quick to leave Rhys behind to keep an eye on Alex. There was nobody to leave the little one with on such short notice and of course Gwen didn't want to get her eye off him for even a minute.

"Me, Ianto and Shannon will go in, you Rhys make sure Alex is safe," Gwen said and hesitated. She walked up to him and landed a long kiss on his lips. "And don't you dare let something happen to him Rhys Williams, don't you dare!"

Ianto observed this display of anxiety and desperation.

"Maybe I should..." he started but Gwen cut in.

"You're coming with us, Ianto."

The man sighed. He really didn't feel ready for anything right now. He had drunk two coffees along with the rest of the team but the caffeine proved to be either useless or late to kick in.

The street was quiet, a stray streetlight glowed on it, creating long shadows. The house was detached, quite large; Gwen could easily compare it to her own residence. It had two floors and a sizable garden. The driveway was empty but lights in the windows implied that somebody was home.

Gwen made her way over the fence with Shannon following (gentlemanly help from Ianto was of course present). Once the three of them were on the estate they split up and Gwen went through the back and Ianto with Shannon tried the front door.

It turned out to be an easy lock to pick. Ianto went in first, his automatic ready in his hand, and made sure there was nobody to inside to surprise them. He then let Shannon in. Before they proceeded further the doctor held his arm.

"Are you OK?" she asked. Even in the dim corridor light his far too pale complexion was visible.

"Yeah," Ianto said. He had no choice but to be alright. "What about you? This situation isn't exactly normal... I'm sorry for getting you involved."

Shannon smiled. "I don't mind." The girl glanced at him bashfully and Ianto felt an immediate rush of hot blood in his cheeks.

He decided to ignore this and moved forward. The house was spacious and quiet. There was a smell of cleanliness and the lack or any stray dishes or objects suggested the inhabitant was away or never present. It looked almost as if it were a model house.

They bumped into Gwen in the living room.

"He's not on this floor," Ianto stated the obvious. The kitchen was empty and the lights in the bathroom were off. Unless somebody was hiding in the cupboard it was obvious that there was nobody there.

"I'll check the basement and you two go upstairs," Gwen whispered. There were lights on either side of the stairs so it was impossible to tell where the resident would be more likely to be.

Ianto and Shannon made their way up the steps keeping close to the wall trying to avoid causing the floor to squeak. It was hard to refrain from making noise, Ianto walking in his black leather shoes, the heels tapping the floor once or twice and Shannon wearing elegant high-heeled shoes completely unsuitable for this escapade. Nevertheless she seemed quite agile in them - an ability women had which Ianto could never comprehend.

Once upstairs they started checking all the rooms, Ianto on one side, Shannon on the other. It was after the leaving the second room that the doctor noticed her companion had disappeared. She turned around and saw all the doors closed, not a sound or light coming from any of them.

She felt her heart beating faster, fear overwhelming her senses.

"Ianto?" the whisper was loud, balancing on the fine line between a murmur and a high-pitched shriek.

No answer.

"Ianto, please!"

Nothing.

She felt tears in her eyes as she moved back to the room and took the first thing she found she could defend herself with. It turned out to be a stray bottle with some dark liquid inside.

o*o*o

Ianto felt a hand on his lips and felt somebody drag him down the stairs. He tried to break free but it was not until the last few steps that he lodged his foot between the bars of the handrail and struggled against the person pulling him for a moment before letting his leg free. They both tumbled to the ground as a result becoming a tangle of ams of legs.

They quickly scrambled to their feet and panting took a moment to look at each other. Ianto's attacker was a tall man with a more massive built than the Torchwood operative. He was dressed in an average T-shirt and washed up jeans. His face had a scar going down the cheek and disappearing in his thick brown beard.

"They said you would be easy," the man said.

Ianto closed his eyes for a second knowing that his attacker was right. He was feeling faint and against an obvious body-builder he was an easy bug to squash. But that didn't mean he was going down without a fight.

"Sha-" he tried alerting the doctor but a punch in the stomach changed his voice into forced silence.

He lost his footing and almost fell trying to find the a way to breath when his muscles refused to follow their natural reflexes. His eyes filled with tears and the image of the man became blurred.

When at last he managed to swallow a big mouthful of air and balance himself he somehow avoided the next attack and landed a clumsy punch somewhere he couldn't see. From the man's reaction he deduced that it was like a bug bite for him and nothing more.

Ianto tried shouting again but he couldn't. The man's large hand covered his lips and nose and he lost his breath altogether. He struggled, remembering the loss of air in the coffin. He tried to tell himself not to panic but it proved impossible for him to keep his usual calm. He tried punching and kicking the man but his blows were random and not thought-through. They barely landed on the man, did no harm at all and it was not long before his consciousness drifted away.

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><p>Getting close to the end :) Hopefully I get the next part uploaded soon. Thanks to Ash-Varnei for proofreading<p> 


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